Lynel Safari
by bladeofthebookworms
Summary: With the Calamity vanquished, Zelda is free to spend more time with her beloved Chosen Knight. Together they set out on what was meant to be a peaceful little journey to Akkala, but the wilds of Hyrule are far from safe. All too soon, bliss becomes a desperate fight for survival, alone and without hope of rescue. Sweet, fluffy Zelink; rated T for grave injuries.
1. Promise of Adventure

**LYNEL SAFARI**

**/\/\/\**

**Promise of Adventure**

**/\/\/\**

The Divine Beasts were no longer functional. Their purpose fulfilled and Calamity Ganon defeated, there was no longer any need for them; the spirits of the Champions had passed on, taking the power to control the Beasts with them. Hyrule was finally at peace.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed," Zelda sighed, sitting near the Ta'loh Naeg Shrine as a glorious crimson sun sank over the land. "Many of my notes about them are gone - only my personal diary remains." She turned to Link with a grateful smile. "Thank you, by the way, for retrieving that for me. It means a great deal."

He shrugged with a slight smirk. "I _did _read it, you know."

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Has my insatiable curiosity rubbed off on you after all this time?" she asked, grinning.

"Nah." His smile faded. "I was just… eager to get my hands on anything I could find about my past."

Zelda squeezed his hand gently, looking back out at the flaming dusk. "I regret that you did not get a choice in the matter of the Shrine of Resurrection. What we forced upon you was -"

"I wouldn't trade it for anything," Link interrupted, brows knit together. "I'm… creating something new for myself. Not everyone has the opportunity to start all the way back at the beginning. From what I remember of myself back then, I'm grateful for this opportunity."

"You _were _a good deal quieter," Zelda mused, thinking back. "I had to try so much harder just to get you to say a few words. It's much easier to speak with you now."

There was just a touch of uncertainty in his eyes. "I know I've changed," he murmured solemnly. "But… I really do hope that, deep down, I'm still the same man I was."

"Man?" Zelda punched his arm lightly. "I don't think so. _Boy, _perhaps. And… yes. You are the same _boy _that I fell in love with a century ago."

Link chuckled lightly, a teasing light glittering in his eyes. "I just helped you save Hyrule. What else do I have to do before you consider me a man?"

"Hmm… I don't know."

She _did_ know, actually. He had to propose. It had only been a month or so after Ganon's demise, but… she'd been alone for a hundred years. _It's understandable for me to want his eternal companionship as soon as possible, isn't it?_

Link offered her a smile… that same soft, gentle smile that she had pictured, over and over and over again, throughout her battle with the Calamity. "Well, let me know when you've thought of something," he murmured. Her soul felt warm; she leaned in and kissed his lips gently, delighted when he wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss with passion.

Here, nestled within his embrace - which was a paradox of strength and tenderness - she felt afraid of nothing.

"You're free now," he said, a bit breathlessly, as they pulled apart. "You can do whatever you want - you can _be _whoever you want. There's no more… no more Chosen Knight, no more Princess or throne or anything like that. Just… just you, me, and this beautiful land."

Zelda smiled. "Thanks to _you," _she murmured, patting his arm. "So… what will you do now?" Her elation faded a little; now that the little dilemma regarding the Divine Beasts had been resolved, he wouldn't leave her… would he?

He blinked at her slowly. "I know I just said the Chosen Knight doesn't exist anymore, but… I was hoping you'd let me continue as your protector." The tips of his pointed ears went slightly red. "M-maybe you'd let me go with you, wherever it is you go."

She grinned at him. "I'm relieved to hear that," she chuckled. "And… that said, I would very much enjoy visiting the shrines with you. Do you remember when…"

"When you tried to enter the one overlooking the Tabantha Great Bridge?" Link finished with a smirk. "Yeah. It wasn't even glowing back then."

"I'm guessing the Sheikah Towers must have activated them," Zelda mused, feeling the urge for greater knowledge burn in her mind. "What have you found inside?"

Link shrugged. "Some of them were puzzles, others were battle training sessions, and… a lot were just _blessing _shrines. I get in there and there's no trial whatsoever, just a treasure chest and a mummified monk." He frowned. "To be honest… after I found ten or so of those, I stopped looking for shrines altogether. It… seemed like a waste of time, since you were still stuck fighting in the castle. I didn't want you to be in there a second longer than you had to, not after waiting a century."

Excitement bubbled up within her heart. "You mean… there are some shrines you've never been to?"

"Yeah…"

She grinned at him. "Then I suppose that's the first thing I'll want to do - visit all of the shrines that remain undiscovered. When can we start?"

Link laughed lightly. "W-well, we could set out in the morning..."

"You'll be able to pack everything we need in just one night?" she asked, eyeing him skeptically. "Don't you sleep _at all?"_

"I slept for the past hundred years - more than anyone ever should," he grinned. "I'll be ready tomorrow morning if you are."

**/\/\/\**

True to his word, Link had their horses, Aspen and Jackpine, saddled and laden with supplies by the time she set foot outside of Kakariko's inn, and still he seemed just as lively and energized as he had since the Calamity's defeat. No one else in the village had awakened yet, but Zelda left a message for Impa with the innkeeper and they set out.

"Aspen," she sighed, stroking her white horse's sturdy shoulder as they rode northwards down the Sahasra Slope to the marshlands below Kakariko. "It's a fine name for her. Did you remember that her ancestor's name was Cottonwood - another species of poplar tree?"

Link grinned and shook his head. "If you hadn't noticed, I named _this _horse Jackpine. I think tree names seem to fit with horses, and maybe it's _because _I subconsciously remembered that your old horse had a tree name, but… I don't know. Either way, I thought Aspen would be a good name for a white horse like that."

"I agree," Zelda smiled. "I could hardly believe it when you brought her out for me - it was like walking into the past."

And she hadn't failed to notice that Jackpine was the spitting image of the horse Link had owned when they travelled together before - a tall, burly, dark bay with a long stripe down the nose and four white stockings. _Did he remember that his old horse had such coloring, or does he just naturally favor dark bays?_

She sighed contentedly, turning her attention to the peace buoying her soul as they plodded down the slope. It was… _heavenly, _just travelling over rolling green hills with the sun warm above her and a fresh breeze blowing her hair freely back behind her. No worries about imminent destruction, no Yiga Clan, no Calamity, no unceasing demands to unlock a dormant power…

All thanks, in great part, to Link.

And with Link by her side, softly humming a cheerful tune that mingled with the soft thudding of hooves on loose turf… it was as if the world had finally learned what perfection meant.

"So what about the Shrines I've been through?" Link asked, turning to her. "Would you still want to go inside, or…?"

Zelda shook her head. "I think it'll be more entertaining for both of us if we go somewhere _new. _After all, if you've already solved the puzzle or completed the training, well… what's the point?"

"Makes sense," Link nodded thoughtfully. "So where should we go first?"

She tilted her head to the side, envisioning a map of Hyrule in her mind. "We should take a systematic approach, either heading from north to south or from east to west or something like that. And… since we're already more towards the eastern edge of the kingdom and we're heading north, I propose we start at Robbie's lab and head either south or west from there." She flashed him a smirk. "I thought this through last night, and… I believe it makes sense."

Link shrugged. "Alright. Do you want to go into any shrines we encounter along the way?"

Excitement fluttered in her soul. "If it's not too much trouble," she beamed. "I've waited a hundred years to set foot in these shrines - I do hope you're not trying to make me wait until we reach Akkala!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Link grinned. "Okay, then - the first shrine is Daka Tuss, on the cleverly named Shrine Island. I would've gone into that one, but I was distracted by a Zora in a lotus pool. That was right after Impa she sent me off to free the Divine Beasts."

Zelda nodded slowly, closing her eyes as she remembered fleeting memories of that day… flashes she'd glimpsed through the connection she'd created between herself and Link before leaving him in the Slumber of Restoration. It was that connection that had allowed her to watch over him throughout his journey.

They continued down the grassy mountainside, caught up in cheerful conversation filled with good-natured jabs and tales of the past. Though it did not feel quite so long to them, it was three hours later that their horses splashed into the shallow water over the Millennio Sandbar and Zelda could see the Shrine just ahead, glowing a pleasant orange.

"Incredible," she murmured, her heart racing faster. Many of the other shrines she'd seen had already been glowing blue, completed by the hero she loved.

She couldn't wait to get inside one that was still a mystery to both of them.

"Wait," Link cautioned, slipping his bow from his shoulders and carefully nocking an arrow, holding two others in his hand.

Zelda frowned, pulling Aspen to a gentle halt and peering ahead at the little mound of earth rising up just ahead; her eyes narrowed as she noticed what had set him off. Three lizalfos paced near the water, wielding spears and primitive boko bows, beady eyes darting warily around.

In only a matter of seconds Link fired off each of the three arrows in his hand, killing the monsters one at a time with a single hit. He shrugged at her apologetically. "Can't leave them out here with the horses; who knows what'll happen."

"I'm certainly glad you're on _our _side," Zelda told him, spurring Aspen forward once again, splashing through the shallow water to Shrine Island amidst the little white marsh flowers and the elegant poplar trees vibrant with green life.

They settled the horses, leaving them loosely tethered to a tree with sufficient room to wander and graze, groomed and with saddles removed for their comfort. It didn't take much time at all, but to Zelda it felt like hours. The Shrine was _right_ _there, _barely a few feet from her, glowing an inviting orange. If not for Link's calm demeanor and easy smile, she felt certain she would've imploded from impatience.

"Care to do the honors?" Link asked at last, holding out the Sheikah Slate.

Hesitantly she took it, heart throbbing with delight. Nayru's _love, _she was excited! She was… she was actually _trembling; _her knees felt weak and her heart was racing as if she were being chased by a thousand lynels, and it seemed that something alive was flying through her stomach, wings beating against her insides. Holding her breath, she held the slate to the pedestal. The lights around the bottom of the shrine flashed to blue, and the horizontal bars engraved with ancient Sheikah symbols folded inwards, revealing a small, dark chamber.

"That's… that's it?" Zelda murmured, suddenly numb with the beginnings of disappointment. "It's… rather small…"

Link laughed. "Come on," he grinned, taking her hand and leading her onto a circular platform also glowing blue, with the Sheikah Eye facing upwards. He curled his arms around her, holding her close against his firm body, and wisps of ancient blue flame flickered up from around the rim of the platform before it slowly began to descend. Zelda gasped in surprise, instinctively holding tighter to Link's chest as the platform took them downwards, through a tube comprised of vertical strands of glowing blue light, finally arriving in what seemed like a spacious underground room, from what she could see. With a wide smile, Link led her forwards, through the blue light, and her breath stilled in her throat.

It was indeed a large room, with a high ceiling that cast pale blue light down on the ground. Several small pillars bearing teardrop-shaped crystals of light stood in corners and around the platform they had just stepped away from. Orange designs, like constellations, decorated two of the walls, pulsing faintly. The walls and floor were a paradox, futuristic in design even while emanating a sense of age, of thousands of years of existence.

Then all at once a low voice echoed through the room, along with a rush of musty air. "_To you who set foot in this shrine… I am Daka Tuss. In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I offer this trial: Sunken Scoop."_

Zelda whirled to face Link, beaming. "This is… it's just… well, astounding!"

"Let's get to it, shall we?" he smiled, giving her a pointed glance at the Sheikah Slate. "We'll probably need to use that somehow. And there is a rune on there that lets you take notes, and photographs -"

She cut him off with a delighted laugh. "You know me too well," she smirked, quickly flipping through the runes and documenting every last inch of the shrine room. Only once she was satisfied did they actually move on to the puzzle itself.

It required heavy use of the Magnesis rune, which Zelda had never once used before. Link was a patient teacher, never once allowing herself to grow frustrated with her attempts to scoop a shrine orb into a giant metal dish. But neither did he attempt to do all the work for her; together, with his gentle, calloused hands guiding her own, she managed to lift an orb and place it within a shallow cavity closed off on all sides by metal grating, unlocking a second room.

This, too, Zelda documented extensively. "All of these constellations!" she remarked, snapping pictures. "I'm no astronomer, but perhaps I can find someone that will know where these constellations can be found. Perhaps they were significant to the Sheikah of that time, or to this particular challenge…"

The second task was a bit more challenging, she thought. This time, the cavity that required a shrine orb was closed in on all sides _and _the top, but a large button at the bottom of a pool caused the top of the cage around the cavity to fold inward, like a trapdoor. Together they managed to get a shrine orb to rest just above the crack before using the scoop itself to hold down the button; the water drained from the pool, revealing a submerged doorway to the next room. Zelda gaped in disbelief, hurrying down into the pool and examining the walls and the floor. "Amazing!" she exclaimed, eyes wide with delight. "You can't even see the drain! Perhaps the floor is made of some sort of porous material, but if that were the case, it would have drained long ago - _amazing!"_

_I'll have to return, _she decided, heart racing eagerly. _With Purah, and Robbie as well, if he feels up to it._ She _would _find out why, and how, such technology was created.

And this time…

This time there were no other duties, no other obligations, that demanded her mind and effort. The throne of Hyrule had been destroyed with Hyrule Castle.

Link was right - she was _free._

In the next room, encased upon a platform within a cube of those same strands of blue light, this time with a bright Sheikah Eye emblazoned on the front, a shrivelled figure sat upon a pedestal. Link reached out with his left hand and tapped the center of the Sheikah Eye, sending out a single ripple across the surface of the cube. The blue light shone brightly before shattering into hundreds of splinter-like shards that drifted slowly away, glittering, fading.

Zelda stared in morbid fascination at the mummified monk sitting cross legged upon the pedestal, clad in tattered trousers and a cloth bearing the Sheikah Eye over its face.

"_Your resourcefulness in overcoming this trial speaks to the promise of a hero," _the monk murmured, with a voice that seemed to come from everywhere all at once. "_In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I bestow upon you this Spirit Orb."_

From Daka Tuss's withered chest, a bright light suddenly flashed, and an orb of deep violet liquid floated towards Link and Zelda - specifically, towards their joint hands. It sank into them with a curious sensation… almost like the insides of her hand had been suddenly dipped in cold water. Zelda shivered slightly, and Link smiled gently at her.

"_May the Goddess smile upon you," _Daka Tuss intoned, as slowly its body dissolved into flowing green flames that slowly wavered upwards before fading away entirely. The shrine all around them began to glow a bright, calming white, and Zelda felt her senses slowly numbing away…

When she opened her eyes, she was leaning against Link's chest, sheltered in the warmth of his embrace as they stood on the same pedestal they'd used to enter the shrine.

With rough hands that sent a shiver through her soul, he brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and gazed down at her. Truthfully, they were nearly the same height - he was only an inch taller, if that, but she enjoyed being able to look up at him.

"What d'you think?" he asked.

She sighed contentedly. "It was nothing like what I expected," she admitted with an insurpressable smile. "I never could have imagined… the _miracles_ of Sheikah technology…"

He nodded, turning and beginning to walk back to the horses. Zelda matched his pace, reluctant to remove herself from beneath his arm. "They're not all quite so harmless," he warned. "I've… almost died a few times, actually." He chuckled, bashfully scratching the back of his head. "Once, after I activated a switch, the floor beneath me gave way and I was suddenly falling down towards a pool of lava. Or - or is it magma, if it's underground?"

Zelda stopped walking, a sudden tremor of fear seizing her heart. "_Wh-what?"_

He winced slightly. "It was a long fall. More than enough time for me to pull out my paraglider."

She blinked. "That's certainly… interesting. It seems… well, rather pointless, I suppose, to build trials in these shrines that could actually _kill _the chosen hero. What would become of Hyrule then?"

"Maybe that's why they built the Shrine of Resurrection," Link suggested thoughtfully. "To save the hero from the trials meant to strengthen him."

Zelda couldn't help but laugh at that. "That would have been unfortunate, to be sure."

After a quick meal, they continued through the marsh, over a string of three little islands through the marsh. The hinox resting on one was so soundly asleep that it barely twitched as they passed carefully around it and onto the complex series of bridges over the Zora River.

"Lizalfos built these?" Zelda asked skeptically. They were certainly not of the highest quality, but still surprisingly stable, with more than enough torches to keep the area well-lit come nightfall.

Link nodded, tilting his head to the side. "They're quite a bit more intelligent than a lot of people give them credit for." He paused. "Lynels, too, but in a much more sinister way."

"I don't see any lizalfos now," Zelda commented, looking around at the quiet river flowing by beneath the bridge.

"I took a group of Zora down here to drive them away after I freed Vah Ruta," he explained. "Monsters aren't the only ones that wanted a better way to cross the Zora River; King Dorephan figured it would help with trade."

"And… the hinox?" Zelda looked at him curiously.

Link snorted. "That thing's probably at least a hundred years old. All it does is sleep, day in and day out. I've _never _seen it get up, even when a magpie flew down to try and get the jewelled shield on its necklace. One of these days it'll die of old age without even realizing."

Zelda laughed lightly; all the same she worried what would happen if the creature finally did decide to take action.

As evening drew near, they made their way along the Ternio Trail, through a gray mountainous region heavily wooded with stately pines and populated by the usual squirrels and deer. Link shot a rabbit for their dinner and roasted it carefully over the little fire they built beneath a simple wooden shelter as the horses grazed nearby. Zelda found herself quite exhausted from the excitement of the day and the long hours of travelling; after she shared the rabbit with Link it wasn't long at all before she fell asleep against his shoulder.

At the crack of dawn they continued on their way, leaving the pines behind as the horses clattered over an ancient stone path weaving above a large lake framed by red volcanic stone. Crossing the Akkala Span, Zelda shuddered at seeing just how far above the ground they were and noted worriedly that part of the side of the bridge had crumbled entirely away.

"Don't worry - travellers cross this bridge all the time," Link tried to reassure her, seeing her anxious gaze. He pointed to the ruins of a guardian just ahead. "See? Even _that _thing could get across."

"Aren't you afraid of anything?" Zelda teased, trying to feel as lighthearted as her words.

Link smirked. "Nothing comes to mind. Except losing you, but that's it."

"That doesn't count," Zelda protested with a laugh. "Surely, in all your travels, you must've come across a situation or a creature that planted at least a _little _bit of fear into your heart."

He raised his eyebrows at her skeptically, but his eyes lost their focus as he thought seriously about her question. "Well… okay. I'm scared of bomb arrows. Seriously, I've seen what those things do to monsters - it's not pretty. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of one of those." He tilted his head to the side, poking his tongue between his lips. "And… I guess white-maned lynels are pretty frightening, too. I was just passing through, minding my own business, and suddenly a shock arrow comes flying out of _nowhere _and spooks Jackpine." He laughed with just a hint of exasperation. "Seriously, I was at least a mile away. Those guys are much too territorial. If Jackpine hadn't run so fast, I'm sure we'd both be dead."

Zelda smirked at him teasingly. "At last, a monster worthy of the great Hero of Hyrule."

"I'd take on Ganon _any day_ instead of one of those lynels! With the Divine Beasts and your powers and everything, I… really didn't think Ganon was much of a threat. This time around, at least…"

* * *

**/\/\/\**

* * *

**Welcome to my new semi-short story! A nice thing about Breath of the Wild's Link is that I can see his personality going both ways - confident and playful, or reserved and a bit depressed. I've written quite a few little stories with the latter, so I decided I'd give the other one a try. Enjoy!**


	2. Into the Fire

**Into the Fire**

**/\/\/\**

Akkala was a strange region, to be sure. Yet, at the same time, its perpetual state of autumn was undeniably enchanting. The crimson of the trees above clashed beautifully with the bright green of the grass, and the soft sounds of the forest - chirping birds, rustling winds, creaking boughs - felt like a comforting lullaby after the harsh clatter of hooves and stone they'd experienced until that point. Zelda knew that Link loved spending time in the forests; the rugged beauty of the wild trees and the abundance of life seemed to imbue him with vivacity and, in her opinion, matched his personality perfectly.

On the contrary, Zelda much preferred wide, open fields, where the sky stretched on and on forever and ever. Akkala would have had both forests and the vast plains she preferred, if not for the mountains rising up and blocking out the view of the sky.

But seeing Link happy was just as good as lying in the grass of Hyrule Field on a warm summer day, if not better.

They passed by the South Akkala stable around midday and continued through the Shadow Pass, green pines standing among aspens with orange leaves and maples in full crimson bloom at the bottom of the gorge of red-rock. Leaves crunched beneath the horses' hooves on the trail as it wound between thick bushes and tall trees with wide trunks and striking red boulders.

Then all at once the trees thinned and the trail emerged above the Ordorac Quarry; from the trail Zelda could just see the little tunnel that led to the Spring of Power. The peace in her heart dimmed, just a little, as the memory of past trials returned. _A hundred years ago, he and I were probably making our way down this very same trail._

"Look out there," Link said, drawing her from her thoughts and pointing in the opposite direction, over a vast plain and out to the ocean. "The Rist Peninsula always struck me as a little odd."

Zelda peered into the distance. "It seems to form the shape of a spiral."

"Exactly," Link mused. He was silent for a few moments. "Y'know, some shrines aren't always just waiting on the surface. A few of them required rituals or something before they appeared. Maybe there's something like that down there."

Zelda's spirits lifted. "Rituals? Shrines appeared as a result of _rituals?"_

Link nodded, smiling at her. "Yeah. A few required a dragon scale; one needed a song, and another had me fire a single arrow through two stone loops. Rituals."

"Fascinating," she murmured, mind racing. _So shrines are not simply technological creations. Somehow the Sheikah were able to tie magic and technology together, resulting in the appearance of a shrine… "Incredible…"_

Thoughts of the Spring of Power did not trouble her for the remainder of the day, and Link smiled to himself.

**/\/\/\**

The Katosa Aug Shrine stood directly across from the East Akkala Stable. Leaving Aspen and Jackpine in the care of stable hands, Zelda eagerly hurried to the pedestal and unlocked the shrine, Link close behind. Expecting another rune trial, she was dumbfounded to find that, instead, the shrine contained what appeared to be a massive hammer with another one of the shallow orb-pits just across a narrow bridge. There was no way for them to get to the bridge, or to the Sheikah monk on a platform beyond the bridge, because of the seemingly endless pit of shadows beneath them.

"Ominous," Zelda shuddered, snapping a picture and backing away.

Finding a pedestal similar to those at the top of Sheikah Towers, she placed the Sheikah Slate within and was granted control of the hammer. Link stood beside her, offering suggestions and helping her get accustomed to controlling such a massive item from afar.

"There's something I've been wondering," he admitted hesitantly as she slowly pulled the hammer back in preparation to strike a shrine orb. "You didn't take any visual evidence of the monk or the Spirit Orb. Why is that?"

"It didn't feel right," Zelda admitted, swinging the hammer forward and sending the orb flying. _Too far. _"There's a difference between creating a record of lost Sheikah technology in the hopes of learning more about them, and photographing the essence of a dedicated monk's soul as he passes on to the afterlife."

Link nodded slowly as she struck the orb again, this time less forcefully, and it rolled slowly towards the pit. "I'm… glad." He chuckled lightly. "You know I'm no good with science, Zelda, but… I had been wondering about that."

She smiled at him as they walked hand in hand to a small platform floating across the gap towards them. "Some say that science and religion must be kept seperate. I disagree; I believe that they work together, in harmony. The Goddesses know all things, and we must trust that all will be revealed to us in time. Even if the findings of science seem contradictory to the teachings of the Goddesses, I know there must be an explanation."

The platform arrived, and they stepped onto it. Zelda's mouth went dry and she curled her arms around Link's chest, focusing on his warm blue eyes and his gentle smile instead of the yawning pit of doom below the platform.

"I admire you for that, Zelda," he murmured, holding her close.

Once again they emerged from the shrine in each other's arms, and with light hearts they made their way down to the stable to set up accomodations for the evening. But as they approached, the stable master hurried towards them, looking anxious. "You're not leaving now, are you?" he asked with concern.

Link shook his head. "Actually, we were about to ask about renting two beds… Is something wrong?"

The stable master, Rudi, nodded grimly and looked at Zelda. "I'm afraid it's your horse, ma'am. She's got a bruised bone - lower right foreleg; cannon bone. Quite impressive that she made it this far, but I'd recommend leaving her in our care for at least a few weeks until she can be ridden again."

"What?" Zelda gaped. "She seemed fine as we were riding - are you certain?"

Rudi nodded, wringing his hands slightly. "It's a minor bruise - not half as bad as many I've seen before. My guess is that she was exceptionally trained, perhaps to carry warriors into battle, so only an expert would have noticed anything wrong."

Zelda glared at Link. "Care to explain?"

His face flushed red all the way to the tips of his ears. "I - I did train her for battle, but only because - well, you _know _how many monsters are still out there. With that training, she'd be able to survive an attack and escape to safety. _With _her rider. With you." He bit his lip, shoulders slumped apologetically. "It was probably the ride along the cliffs on Ternio Trail. It's hard stone - hard on hooves."

"Then why isn't Jackpine injured?" Zelda demanded, feeling slightly angered by the unfairness of the situation and by Link's mistake.

"If I may, ma'am," Rudi intervened, "your horse is clearly a descendant of the breed favored by the Royal Family in years past. As a result of selective breeding, and since they were primarily shown in parades through Castle Town on the cobblestone paths, such horses have genetically weakened hooves. Whereas this young man's horse doesn't seem to match any breed I know, suggesting that it was once wild. And… wild horses are generally tougher than other breeds out there, simply because of the centuries they've spent on rough terrain."

Zelda inhaled deeply, massaging a sudden ache in her temples. She turned to Link. "Did you know my horse had that weakness?"

He shook his head. "I might've once," he admitted softly. "I didn't know when I found Aspen."

"Alright, then." She studied him critically, her glare firmly in place. But since awakening, Link seemed to have lost the ability to conceal his emotions and wear a stoic mask; she could clearly see the guilt and regret written on his features. She sighed heavily. "Well… I suppose we'll get a couple rooms for the night, and then…?"

She didn't want to delay her search for shrines. But with Aspen injured…

"We can explore just this area," Link suggested gently. "Jackpine's no giant, but I'm certain he could carry us both for shorter distances. We can find whatever shrines I haven't found in this region, perhaps visit Robbie and Jerrin, and by then maybe Aspen will be alright to ride."

She forced a grateful smile at him before turning back to Rudi. "Do you have people here that are qualified to take care of my horse?"

The stable master puffed his chest out proudly. "This is a stable, ma'am. We always have a veterinarian on our staff in addition to a physician for travellers. I assure you, Aya is qualified."

Zelda inhaled deeply. "Very well," she relented. "We will leave her in your care."

* * *

**/\/\/\**

* * *

**Since this is the shortest chapter, I thought I'd post it early. The next part will come out on Saturday. Enjoy! Thank you for reading!**


	3. End of the Road

**End of the Road**

**/\/\/\**

**James Birdsong (Guest): Thanks! It's great to hear from you again - thank you for reading my stories!**

**/\/\/\**

The following dawn, after one last farewell pat and an apple for Aspen, Zelda joined Link in Jackpine's stall. "No saddle?" she asked, surprised, as he lifted a thick saddle blanket over the tall horse's back.

"It'll be easier for him and more comfortable for us that way," he explained. "My saddle's not designed for two. Besides, I don't think we'll ever be more than a day's ride from the stable; we'll be able to rest here each night." He lifted a thick leather strap holding two saddlebags over Jackpine's shoulders and fastened it in place around the horse's belly, where the girth strap would usually go. "I've packed some food and a few other supplies just in case, but I don't think we'll need to use them. Just a safety precaution."

"You have your weapons," Zelda smiled. "I'm certain we'll be alright."

Grinning, he hopped up onto Jackpine's back and reached down to help Zelda up behind him. She curled her arms around his waist, feeling a flutter in her stomach as her cheeks warmed with a blush.

_Well. This certainly isn't so bad._

She would certainly enjoy growing accustomed to the feel of Link's solid abdomen beneath her hands, and his back against her chest.

"I thought we might investigate Skull Lake today," she said as they set off at a swift walk out of the stable. "I could see a shrine at the top of the second eye before we reached the stable. We might as well start there, don't you think?"

"Sure," Link agreed readily, leading Jackpine up the North Akkala Foothills. Birds sang; rodents scampered among the fallen leaves and up the thick white tree trunks. A red-tusked boar darted across their path on stubby legs, tail swishing behind it, and Jackpine tossed his head. The early morning sun cast pale blue light down on the green world, filtering through the colorful leaves above. Rustling through the ferns and full, bushy branches of the trees, a gentle salt-tinged breeze drifted by, smelling of the ocean. Zelda closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the scents and sensations accosting her mind.

"Hopefully there'll be a tall outcropping or something overlooking the lake," Link mused, turning Jackpine down a small trail cutting westward through the forest. "That way we can just paraglide straight to it."

"I wouldn't mind that," Zelda smirked, nudging him playfully.

"Neither would I," she thought he murmured back, but the wind garbled his words.

There was a moblin on the trail, but it was easily distracted by an arrow Link fired into the bushes before they drew near, and they were able to travel by without it noticing. There were also several bokoblins in a camp overlooking Bloodleaf Lake, but the trees and a narrow ledge blocked the two riders from view, and they passed by in peace.

"If you don't bother them, they don't bother you, usually," Link explained once they were out of earshot. He chuckled. "Can't tell you how many times I've tried to explain that to travellers."

Zelda quirked an eyebrow. "If that were true of all monsters, many travellers wouldn't be attacked in the first place, right?"

"It _is _true of all monsters," he protested. "Some of them just have larger territories than others. Or maybe they're more protective of their young or something. I think some of it depends on how fast they travel - a fast monster needs more space, and slow ones hardly need anything. Lynels have such a large territory that… well, you're never really safe from them. But if you just run away from a chuchu, they'll lose interest pretty quickly."

"You would make a fair monstrologist," Zelda teased.

Link half-turned to look at her with exaggerated shock. "And become a second Kilton? Have you _met _the guy?"

"Not yet," she chuckled. "He can't be that bad, can he?"

"He's friendly enough, in his own way," Link explained. "But the last time I saw him, he had a few things that really made my skin crawl. Armor that turns you _into _a monster, for one. There are two types - one for horses, and one for Hylians." He shuddered. "I think I'll leave the studying to you."

Zelda laughed, tightening her grip around him as they headed up the side of Tumlea Heights. In the distance she thought she saw two wolves chasing after a doe. The trees above cast beautiful dappled shadows on the leaf-strewn trail and bushy undergrowth; up ahead she saw the shadows suddenly end. They broke forth from the trees at the crest of a gently-sloping hill covered in a soft carpet of tall green grass undulating like ocean waves in the wind.

Link turned Jackpine off of the trail into the massive field, allowing the sun to cast the full warmth of its rays down upon the two of them. Zelda sighed, resting her chin on Link's shoulders, feeling perfectly content.

_And there's that shrine, just over there… _

"This trail isn't marked," Link said thoughtfully, tugging the reins just slightly to the right. Zelda looked down to see a thin path beneath Jackpine's hooves, comprised mainly of trodden-down grass. "I think it's probably just a game trail, but I saw it when I got the Ancient Flame for Robbie and thought it might be interesting to see where it leads. I think it'll take us right to Skull Lake."

"That would certainly be convenient," Zelda smiled. "I -"

The distant twang of a bow. A crackle of electricity. And suddenly Link jerked Jackpine's reins firmly to the left, perpendicular to the trail. He twisted his torso and threw his arms out to the side. A flash of yellow and a sickening squelch and a low buzzing sound and Link tumbled backwards from the saddle with a scream. Jackpine whinnied in terror, tossing his head and exploding forward in an abrupt surge of frightened speed. Zelda lurched forwards, clinging desperately to the horse's thick neck, sliding forwards on the saddle blanket.

"Link!" she shouted, afraid, as Jackpine charged away.

"_Run! I'll catch up!" _she heard him yell, but his voice was strained.

Frantically Zelda tried to soothe his spooked horse, speaking as calmly as she could, holding tight with her thighs. Jackpine squealed anxiously, tossing his head as he bolted in terror, charging blindly ahead into a small copse of trees and nearly running into one. With a sharp cry the startled horse skidded to a halt and leapt up on his hind legs, forcing Zelda to hold on for dear life before he planted both feet firmly on the ground and lowered his head, breathing heavily. Zelda snatched his reins in one hand and tried to soothe him, stroking his neck gently before steering him back around.

Her blood ran cold. There in the middle of the field was a massive white-maned lynel armed with a savage-looking sword and a thick bow, and standing in front of it was Link, unfairly much shorter, gripping the comparatively tiny Master Sword and simple gray shield.

All at once the lynel sheathed its weapon and charged. Link leapt to the side a hair's breadth before it plowed into him and sank his blade deep into its shoulder, jumping up onto its back and pulling out his blade as the monster bucked furiously. Link stabbed at its back and it reached over its shoulder, snatching his arm and throwing him brutally to the ground.

Drawing its sword once more it reared and slashed downwards, but Link rolled out of the way and stumbled to his feet. The lynel swiped at him; Link deflected the blow with his shield and lunged forwards, aiming for the beast's heart. It jumped backwards and Link's blade cut only air. The lynel charged again, this time with its sword raised, and Link seemed to catch the brunt of the blow on his own sword, but the force sent him sprawling backwards. With a roar the lynel reached down with its free hand and tried to grab the hero, but Link rolled out of the way and backpedalled quickly.

Zelda watched, feeling helpless.

And, truly, what was there for her to do? _My power is gone… I've never been able to fight… he's backing himself to the edge of a cliff!_

"Link, hold on!" she shouted, refusing to sit idly by and do nothing. She spurred Jackpine into a gallop and sent him towards the battling pair, despite the terror curdling her blood. "Grab my hand!"

She doubted she had the strength to pull him up, but she'd seen him swing himself onto a galloping horse's back with only one hand many times before. _He can do this!_

"Zelda! Stay back!" Link commanded, sparing her not a glance as the lynel charged him again, driving him closer to the edge of the cliff. As she neared, Zelda saw with horror that he was wounded - the fletchings of two shock arrows emerged from his torso, and there was a jagged red streak above them on his chest.

He ran towards the lynel as it swung its blade horizontally, attempting to roll beneath the blow and plunge his sword upwards into its belly, but it anticipated the move, reaching down and snatching him by the neck in one merciless fist, lifting him high in the air. The Master Sword dropped from his grasp, sliding down the nearby rocky cliffside, as he reached up to tug at the meaty fingers squeezing his neck. His face went red and then purple and his eyes bulged desperately; he bashed at the lynel's arm with his shield, struggling to free himself, but with one wild swing it flew free from his forearm.

The lynel sneered at him, raising its sword to cut him in half. But even as it began the swing, Link tightened his grip on the creature's hand and lifted his legs upward, kicking its throat with every last ounce of strength he had left. The beast dropped him with a startled gurgle and stumbled. Zelda screamed; Link tumbled helplessly over the edge of the cliff.

"_No!"_

Desperately she dug her heels into Jackpine's sides and sent him racing away from the lynel down the hill, where instead of a cliff there was a gentle slope that the horse could descend with ease. The sound of shock arrows striking the ground just behind her filled her ears and she gasped, squeezing Jackpine's sides once again in an effort to coax more speed from him.

She could hear a second set of pounding hooves; with growing terror she glanced over her shoulder to see the lynel hot on their heels, three shock arrows nocked to its bowstring. "Run!" she cried out in terror, but as she faced forwards a sense of hopelessness clasped her soul.

There was a second lynel just ahead, emerging from a large cluster of colorful trees, likely drawn by the sounds of battle so nearby. This one was blue, with a pink-tinged mane. Seeing the horse and rider and white-maned lynel charging at breakneck speeds, anger burned in its yellow eyes and it raised its weapon, a massive metal club. Roaring furiously, it whirled the club over its head and Zelda screamed, jerking Jackpine's reins to the right. She needn't have bothered, as Jackpine had already veered that direction, driven by instinct and terror.

There was a resounding crash as the blue lynel's club smashed against the white one's shield. Zelda looked back at them fearfully; the white-maned lynel had lost all interest in her as now the blue lynel fought to drive the much more intimidating intruder out of its territory. Relieved, and yet still breathlessly frightened, Zelda guided Jackpine back towards the base of the cliff where Link had fallen. Hope glittered in her soul as they neared and she could see that it had not been a straight drop, but rather a steep rocky incline that he had probably rolled down.

He was trying to get to his feet, eyes narrowed with worry and features twisted in pain. The instant Jackpine slowed to a walk Zelda slid from his back, stumbling slightly, and dashed to Link's side with a final glance over her shoulder to ascertain that the two lynels were still locked in combat.

"You need to lie down," she told him, trying to remain calm for his sake. Trying not to dwell on the fact that two shock arrows protruded from his torso. "Link, _lie down!"_

He shook his head with a grimace, his breaths swift and shallow. "Lynel," he croaked, unresisting as she gently pushed him onto his back. "It… it…"

"I think it's rather preoccupied at the moment," Zelda assured him, taking his hand and stroking it softly. "I… accidentally led it right into a second lynel's territory, and they're fighting now." A cold finger curled around her heart. "There are… _two of them. _We… we can't get back to the stable, can we? Unless… unless one is killed?"

"Unlikely," Link groaned, arching his back and tightly shutting his eyes with a pained groan. "Th-they… don't murder their own… own kind…"

Zelda shuddered, looking back over her shoulder. Distant clashes and angry roars echoed through the valley. Swallowing tightly, she turned back to Link. "Tell me what I need to do," she said, forcing herself to examine his injuries. One arrow, just above his hip bone, had pierced all the way through to his back. The other was a few inches right of that, probably right next to his navel. His left arm was bleeding as well, just below his elbow. There was also a long horizontal wound across the center of his chest, and his wrist and ankle seemed unnaturally twisted.

Link lifted his head slightly, glancing down at himself. With a wince he closed his eyes again. "Sh-Sheikah Slate?" he questioned weakly.

Her gaze fell to his waist, where the Sheikah Slate usually hung from his belt.

It was gone.

Feeling a shudder of panic, she quickly scanned the area. It didn't take long for her to find it, lying on the stone a few feet away from Link. Zelda snatched it, her hopes deflating when she saw that its smooth surface was cracked, and her attempts to access the runes failed.

"It's broken," she told him sadly. _Must've happened when he fell._

Link nodded slightly. "R-right. Okay." Blearily he looked at her through pain-dulled blue eyes, breathing heavily and shuddering as another wave of agony gripped him. "The ar-arrow that… that came through… s-snap off the tip and… and pull it out."

Zelda bit her lip, frightened. _Pull it out? But that'll hurt you - I can't do that! _"C-can you sit up?"

His response was a shaky breath; he moved his good arm backwards and pushed himself up, slowly scooting back until he reached the side of the cliff and leaned against it, eyes tightly closed. Zelda swallowed thickly, preparing herself; then she took the jagged, bloodied tip of the shock arrow and snapped it away from the rest of the arrow, grimacing at the electrical current it sent through her hand. As quickly as she carefully could, she pulled the narrow shaft out of his side, trying to ignore how Link's body spasmed, grunts of pain escaping his lips.

"What do I do about the other one?" she asked softly as he cupped his good hand over the now freely-bleeding injury.

"Leave it in," Link said with a groan, throwing his shoulders back as yet another wave of pain wavered through him.

Zelda looked at the inches of arrow emerging from his torso. "Are you sure?"

He jerked his head downwards in a nod. "I-I don't know what it hit… how far in it is… b-better to wait… let someone who knows what they… they're… doing…" His words faded away as he grimaced, convulsing slightly on the ground.

A sudden, horrifying thought occurred to her. _It's a _shock _arrow… _"Link… is it still - still…?"

He blinked at her. "Still what?" he asked breathlessly.

"Well… _electrocuting _you," she explained, hesitant to hear her response.

A hard, distracted look entered his eyes - one that she knew well. It meant that he was wondering about hiding something from her. "Uh… you could say that," he answered meekly. His features tightened and he closed his eyes. "N-not as bad as it was in the beginning…"

Zelda bit her lip anxiously. "And you want to _leave it in?_ There has to be a way for us to get rid of it," she protested.

"L-look at the arrowhead," he mumbled, eyes flickering open. "The w-way it's shaped means that… that it'll… it'll t-tear me apart if we try to get it out." He winced, eyes clouding over with dread. "Leave it in."

She couldn't immediately find the words to respond. Here he was, slumped against the cliff, sweat gleaming upon his brow as blood soaked his tunic. He trembled violently as the shock arrow continued to work its cruel magic upon his body.

Zelda shook her head. "_No, _Link. I'm not going to leave that thing inside of you. You say it isn't sending as much electricity through you now as it was initially, but eventually…" Her voice quavered with worry. "I don't want to learn the hard way what the consequences of prolonged electrical shock are. Tell me how to get it out."

Link blinked rapidly, muscles jerking as what must have been a particularly strong shock jolted through him. "You'll have to push it th-through," he answered faintly. His chin trembled as he regarded the double-pronged jagged tip of the discarded arrowhead lying on the stones. "L-less damage that way, I think."

Zelda hesitated, looking down at the arrow and back up at his pain-ridden face. _That… would be excruciating. _"Can't I just pull it out?"

He bit his lip, looking truly frightened. "I - I don't know. The shape of the arrowhead - I just don't know what'd be best. B-but the arrowhead might break off altogether if you pull it out, and - and then…"

"Alright, I'll do it," Zelda agreed hastily before he went into any more detail. "Just… hold on."

Link pressed his relatively uninjured side against the cliff, allowing her better access to the injury. Gritting her teeth, she took the shaft of the arrow in both hands and shoved it forwards - his entire body went suddenly tense and he released a short scream of anguish soon replaced by strained, ragged breathing. He gazed at her through half closed, watery eyes, lips still parted, as he slumped against the cliff, all at once entirely limp.

Zelda forced her tears away and examined the wound. Her heart sank as she checked his back and didn't see the tip of the arrow emerging there. Her heart sank. "Link, it… it didn't come through."

He stared at her with widening eyes. His lips moved, but he seemed incapable of speech; with a feeble whimper he took the shaft of the arrow in his own hands and forced it through his flesh, once more shouting out in utter agony. Zelda stared in horror; she had seen sparks of electricity dancing around the wound that time. Link slid down the side of the cliff, landing on his side, heaving for breath, drenched in perspiration.

Seeing that he was no longer capable of tending to himself, Zelda proceeded to snap off the bloody arrowhead and pull out the shaft, drawing an involuntary jerk and a feeble cry from the hero's battered body. Tossing the broken arrow away she rushed back to Jackpine, digging through the small saddlebag Link had packed with emergency supplies, relieved to find a roll of bandages. Quickly she returned to his side, trying desperately to quell the panic rising within her as she saw that the blue of Link's tunic was almost entirely hidden by a familiar crimson. Memories of _that night _threatened to overwhelm her mind, but she forced herself not to dwell on those.

_He needs me to be calm right now._

He gazed at her blearily, breathing hard, lips twitching as if he were trying to say something, but with a slight shake of his head he closed his eyes with a pained sigh - not unconscious, but in agony, his strength spent.

Zelda hesitated a moment, wondering if she should try to remove his tunic or just wrap the wounds over his clothing. _His tunic could be dirty, at the very least with sweat… having it pressed against those injuries could infect them… _

She remembered binding one of the wounds he'd gotten on their travels, three nasty scratches on his arm; she'd wrapped his bare skin then.

_Nayru, guide me, _she pleaded, inhaling deeply before reaching forward and unbuckling his belt and quiver from his waist and removing his baldric from his torso. He groaned feebly, eyelids flickering briefly upwards; the next to go were his bracer, gloves, and armbands, followed by his Champion's tunic and then his undershirt.

It wasn't the first time she'd seen him shirtless, but it certainly was the first time she'd been in such close proximity to his bare chest. He wasn't particularly broad or burly; Zelda remembered well that many had doubted him in the beginning because of his size. He was lean, and not particularly tall, but there was no denying the strength of his body. His muscles were visibly solid and well defined beneath slightly tanned skin broken here and there by scar tissue. His body was, in her opinion, an impressive representation of strength and courage.

_Certainly not hard on the eyes, _she thought distractedly. _Far from it, in fact..._

Link noticed her sudden immobility and somehow found the energy to smirk at her, a soft sound that may have been a laugh emerging from his throat before he coughed weakly, a thin stream of blood trickling from his lips.

_Focus! _Zelda chided herself, blushing furiously and burning with internal guilt as she busied herself with the bandages. She tore off small strips and folded them before pressing them firmly to the freely bleeding wounds across his torso. He was able to help with that to some degree, although she noticed that his arm shook violently as he held himself up. Inhaling deeply, she tightly bound the wounds, doing her best not to dwell on his faint whimpers.

Then she moved on to the wrist of his left hand; it was sickeningly bent perhaps an inch above his wrist bones and badly swollen, probably broken. Several of his ribs were misshapen as well. Zelda winced. The bones needed to be set, or at the very least splinted, but she knew she didn't have that skill, and she had absolutely no idea what needed to be done for his broken ribs.

Glancing over her shoulder once more, she saw that the two lynels had stopped fighting and were walking stiffly back into the heart of their respective territories. She could see open green fields leading eastward, probably joining the road somewhere. It was horribly tempting, but she didn't dare attempt to escape with Link in such a bad state and with two lynels to contend with.

His soft sigh drew her from her thoughts. She turned to see him slowly lowering himself entirely to the ground, stretching out on his back with a grimace.

"I don't know what to do from here," she admitted sadly, reaching for his uninjured hand. "I… can't do anything about broken bones."

Link winced slightly, his glazed eyes shifting to the steep incline he'd crashed down. "Stupid rocks," he muttered.

"They probably saved your life," she reminded him. "If you'd fallen straight down…" An unwelcome image invaded her mind - his body, broken, sprawled grotesquely on the stony ground. Blinking away tears, she asked with a quaver, "Did you hit your head at all on the way down?"

He squinted at her. "I don't… don't think so. I… I tried t-to protect… with my arms…"

His consciousness was fading; it was clear in the breathlessness of his voice and the glossy, distant look in his eyes. "What do we do?" she asked softly, running a thumb over his knuckles. "Link, I need you to stay awake. It's been a hundred years - _I don't know this land._ You do. You know it so much better than I do. How do we get out of this? Could Robbie fix the Sheikah Slate?"

He mustered a feeble chuckle that quickly turned into a groan of pain. "C-can't get to Robbie," he reminded her in a voice barely above a whisper, shot through with agony. "I… I don't…" His eyes closed and he clenched his teeth, his breath catching for a moment. "F-fire…"

His head lolled to the side as he finally sank into unconsciousness. Zelda gulped, clasping his hand as if it were a lifeline. "Link? _Link!"_

No response. She checked his heartbeat - it was frighteningly fast, struggling to replenish the blood he was losing. And his breaths were unnaturally shallow, a result of his injured ribs. She could only imagine how much pain he must have been in; these were among the worst injuries she'd seen him bear.

As she hesitated to remove her fingers from his neck, she noticed one other thing: his skin was cold, like ice, likely due to blood loss or perhaps shock. _Fire, _he'd said. _Perhaps he wanted me to build one…?_

Building a fire, at the very least, was something she _could_ do. At her request, Link had taught her many things throughout their travels before and after the Calamity's fall. It was one of the things she loved about him. The entourage of knights escorting her before Link was appointed as her protector had all but laughed at her desire to learn more about survival in the wilderness. Her ladies-in-waiting had also protested against her learning anything they found 'unbecoming' of a Princess, and of course her father discouraged any action that wasn't actively preparing her to unlock her sealing power.

But Link… he wasn't like that at all. Never had been. He always took her thoughts seriously, even now when he laughed and teased so much more. So through him she'd learned to build a fire, shoot a bow, clean and bandage wounds, and do a myriad of other, simpler tasks that no one else gave her the chance to learn.

To others she was a Princess, held down by the duties and expectations that they placed upon her.

To Link, she was Zelda. He did not place duties or obligations or expectations upon her. In his presence, she was free.

* * *

**/\/\/\**

* * *

**I know that the Hyrule Compendium entry for shock arrows says that they break apart on impact, but for the purpose of this story, and so that Link has a chance of survival and no one has to go searching inside of him for shock arrow pieces, they remain intact like a normal arrow.**


	4. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

**Between a Rock and a Hard Place**

**/\/\/\**

**James Birdsong (Guest): I'm glad you liked it!**

**/\/\/\**

It wasn't long before a simple campfire burned cheerfully on a level stretch of bare stone nearby. Carefully Zelda pulled Link's limp form closer to the warmth - a difficult task, as despite his small stature his muscles were still quite dense - and rolled up his bloodied tunic, placing it beneath his head to make him a little more comfortable.

"Let's see…" she murmured, kneeling over him and gently examining his head. He'd said he hadn't hit it, but he'd hidden injuries in the past to keep him from worrying. "Honestly, Link," she said with a forced smile, trying to lighten her heart somehow. "For the best warrior in the land you certainly have a knack for getting into painful situations."

Tenderly she ran her hands through his hair - for the _sole_ purpose of searching for a bruise, of course - and lifted his eyelids, ensuring that neither pupil was larger than the other. _So you told the truth this time. Good._

She checked the wounds in his sides once more; the bandages were already glistening with red. Biting her lip, she pressed down on them, feeling the warmth of his blood on her hands. At last she allowed a tear to escape her eye; she could hardly believe that barely half an hour ago they'd been cheerfully heading out to another shrine. Now Link was wounded, perhaps fatally, and the Sheikah Slate was broken, leaving them without any way to get him swiftly to a healer. Or to Purah, who had extensively researched the Shrine of Resurrection and might possibly know something better to do.

She sighed heavily, fear clenching around her heart as she pressed harder against the arrow wounds, praying to Farore that she would never have to hurt him again.

The sun was directly above them when the flow of blood finally slowed enough for her to feel safe removing her hands. She removed the bloodied bandages, intending to replace them with clean ones; as she did so she noticed Link's blue eyes upon hers.

"Good afternoon, sleepyhead," she teased with a forced smile, finishing the last knot. "Try to stay awake, alright?"

He grunted noncommittally. His gaze never left her, not as she got to her feet and searched through Jackpine's saddlebags one more time for anything that could help, not as she removed the horse's bridle to allow him to graze freely, not as she stared out at the forest where she knew a lynel lay in wait.

She turned back to him with a sigh, unstopping the water flask she'd found and gently tilting his head upwards. "I'd clean those wounds of yours, but there's nothing -"

Link interrupted her, gagging, coughing violently as water sprayed from his mouth. He groaned, clutching at his swollen ribs with his good hand and turning his head to the side to spit. "Not water," he croaked, looking at her with bewilderment. "That's - that's _alcohol!"_

Zelda's eyes widened and she stared at the flask. "Didn't you bring any water?" she asked, frustrated. So she could clean his wounds now, but they would both die of dehydration.

Link leaned his head back, breathing heavily. "On - on my belt," he murmured hoarsely.

_Of course, _she thought, ashamed for doubting his preparedness. "Right, then," Zelda said with a humorless chuckle. "I'm sorry." She walked to Link's items lying on the ground and unhooked the two medium-sized leather canteens from his belt.

He looked at her dazedly. "I w-wouldn't forget _water,"_ he assured her. "Wouldn't… wouldn't forget alcohol, either… infection could… could k-kill…"

She winced. "About that... do you want water before or after I clean these wounds?" Her heart sank; here she was, having to hurt him again.

"After," he mumbled, inhaling as deeply as his swollen ribs allowed. "Can - can I have a s-stick?"

Zelda blinked at him, slightly confused; she turned to the little pile of twigs she'd been able to gather for the fire and handed one to him. With his good hand he placed it between his teeth before nodding at her, grim resolution hard in his gaze. She swallowed tightly and tore a small bit of cloth from the roll of bandages and dabbed alcohol onto it before dabbing it on the smaller gash in his arm. He didn't cry out, but she could see the muscles in his jaw tightening.

She knew she had to be thorough. Link reused his arrows; lynels were certainly intelligent enough to do the same. Hylia only knew where the two arrows that pierced him had been before. And that sword had looked sharp, certainly, but not clean.

At the same time, she loathed to cause him any more pain, despite knowing that it could save his life. She tried to hurry.

His breaths became more and more uneven as she moved on to the arrow wounds. The way his teeth tightened around the stick and the strained groans emanating from his throat revealed that he was doing his utmost to hold back screams of anguish. Zelda murmured apologies over and over again, tears burning in her eyes as she pressed her cloth into the wounds, fearing for the torn innards that she couldn't get to.

The longer slice across his chest was easier to clean, as it wasn't half as deep, but it was certainly a bit dirtier. _Perhaps it struck rocks when he fell. _She winced, noting the swollen ribs right around the dirtiest area of the wound. _More than likely._

Link cried out sharply as she continued to dab at the dust in the wound, carefully cleaning it away. His good hand tightened into a fist and he trembled, the remaining color draining from his already-pallid face. "Breathe," Zelda urged him, forcing calm assurance that she did not feel into her voice. "Just keep breathing, Link. Stay awake for me, alright?"

He looked at her, eyes hazy with pain, and sucked in a sharp breath. "For you," he mumbled around the stick as she finally wrapped fresh bandages around the wound.

_I didn't mean it that way, _she thought, her heart burning as she was reminded, once again, of just how much he had gone through for her sake.

She helped him crawl back to the cliff once again, leaning him against the rocks as she cleaned the two puncture wounds in his back. Her breath stilled in her throat as she saw the ragged edges of the one he'd had to force the arrow through; it was so much larger than the other one, and the skin was surrounded by bloodied electrical burns, swollen and shiny and blistered, with just a hint of black. With tears stinging her eyes she pressed pressed her cloth to the wound and Link flinched, a strangled cry of agony escaping his throat as his breathing quickened.

"Hold on," she pleaded, gently rubbing his shoulder with her free hand as she continued cleaning the ghastly injury to the best of her ability. She could feel him shuddering, could feel the sweat dampening his strong body, could feel his muscles tightly coiled in response to the pain. "I'm almost done - hang in there, alright?"

She couldn't tell if he'd heard her. The only response he gave was hoarse whimpers, sounds that she could tell he was trying his best to hold back.

The instant she finished with the alcohol, she snatched fresh bandages and wrapped them securely around his wounds. It was a difficult process; by then he was barely conscious, and she was supporting most of his weight. The stick had fallen from his jaws; he was slumped against her shoulder, his breaths rapid and uneven.

It didn't escape her notice that his skin had gotten considerably colder, and clearly he had become tremendously weaker since regaining consciousness. As she carefully lowered him down to his back, his eyes slipped closed; exhaustion and pain pulled him into darkness.

And she was on her own again.

Biting her lip, she gazed down at him, searching for anything more she could do. The afternoon sun had passed beyond the cliff they huddled against, casting them into shadow; struck by a sudden idea she hurried back to Jackpine and snatched his saddle blanket, slapping it free from as much dust as she could manage. Despite Link's meticulous care for his horses, even he was not so skilled that he could keep a saddle blanket perfectly clean.

When she was satisfied, she returned to her hero and held it above him. But she hesitated; her eyes found the faded lines of scars streaking all over his body, and she felt somehow paralyzed by the sight. Some were smooth, shiny; others were thin white lines raised up from the rest of his skin, and still others were a vibrant pink, knotted and ropy.

In that moment, as she tucked the edges of the blanket around his shoulders and adjusted his bloodied tunic beneath his head, she couldn't help the tears that sprang to her eyes. Link had told her his greatest fear, but she kept her own a secret from him.

_I'm terrified every time you're hurt. _

For when he was wounded, his pain became her own. Seeing him beaten, broken, bloodied; hearing him groan and scream…

It was torture to her.

The afternoon passed in painful near-silence, broken only by the crackle of sparks and Link's rasping breaths. Jackpine grazed nearby; Zelda had removed his bridle to allow him more comfort, but he did not wander far. She herself didn't feel particularly hungry, but she forced herself to eat one of the apples they had packed for lunch anyway. _I need to keep a clear head._

Then, her stomach satisfied, she leaned back against the side of the cliff and tried to think.

The most pressing issue was, of course, Link's condition. The heads of the shock arrows had truly been viciously shaped; they would have torn him apart as they travelled through his body. And then there were the electrical burns that had possibly been inflicted inside of him as well, and those first few minutes with one arrowhead embedded within him, releasing a constant current of electricity through his body.

Broken wrist, broken ankle, broken ribs, and two more gashes burned across his body. No concussion, thank the Goddesses, but he was unconscious, and still bleeding, from his injuries and from his mouth, and probably in shock.

It did not look good for the man she loved.

With a sigh, she removed his bundled-up tunic from beneath his head and instead placed it gently beneath his ankles, elevating them as much as she could. For a moment she paused, studying his boots. _Should I remove them? Does it matter? Or would it only cause more damage to his injured foot?_

Deciding against it, she backed away, resuming her analysis of the situation. _Treat it like a research project. Knowns, unknowns, an end goal or expected result..._

The last bit was easy: Link _had _to get help, and soon, from someone far more capable than she. _And the unknown bit of that is… where can we find that someone?_

She'd said it to him earlier - she didn't know this land or its people any more. _Thus, my knowledge of possible healers is at worst nonexistent._

Biting her lip, she moved on. _Alright. Knowns - Link is badly injured, perhaps fatally. The way back to the stable, or to someone able to fix the Sheikah Slate, is blocked by two lynels. One of said lynels is of a breed so powerful that it was enough to best my knight. Both are heavily armed, and have bows, which means that any attempt to ride past them as swiftly as possible would likely end in pursuit and death._

There were tears pricking her eyes, but she wouldn't allow herself to release them. Not yet.

_Unknowns - how long Link will last out here; how long our supplies, meaning food and water, will last; how long it will take for someone to come looking for us…_

For a moment, remembering that the stable expected them back by evening, her spirits soared.

Then she remembered the lynels.

_Add that to the list of knowns - if someone comes looking for us, the lynels will either kill them or drive them off._

_So we can't expect outside help._

She turned her attention to the resources they had available. Two mostly-full canteens of water. A fast, strong horse. The Master Sword, which had fallen from Link's hands down the cliff moments before he followed. His bow and a half-full quiver of arrows (many had spilled when he fell, and several others were broken). A few more apples, and strips of dried meat. A fire. A tiny flask of alcohol designed for healing purposes. A diminishing role of bandages.

And a broken Sheikah Slate, a wounded swordsman, and a former princess unaccustomed to wilderness survival.

_Fantastic._

Sighing heavily, she turned her attention back to Link. No change - he was still nearly motionless, still unnaturally pale, still breathing raggedly. _And that's the most important thing right there - that he's breathing._

_But it doesn't help me help him._

_Nevertheless, I must do _something.

Her eyes settled on the Master Sword, lying with the rest of Link's gear. A memory sparked to her mind - Link in her arms, having finally breathed his last, lying limp and cold and dead on a rain-drenched, blood-soaked battlefield.

"_So he can… he can still be saved?"_

She blinked, returning to the present with an ache in her soul. The last thing she wanted was to relive _that _day. _Please, Goddesses above, don't let this be a repetition of that moment!_

Swallowing tightly, she made her way to the sacred blade lying discarded on the stone and gripped the hilt. It felt wrong in her hands - cold, uncomfortable, heavy - just as it had back then.

But the fact that she wasn't struck dead, or that she was able to lift it at all, meant that the sword wanted her to hold it.

Just as it had back then.

With a deep preparatory breath, she closed her eyes. "Please," she whispered. "What must I do to save him?"

At first there was only silence. She waited with baited breath, with faith, with hope.

And a light chime broke the still air. "_He knows what to do…"_

Zelda blinked rapidly. The voice was so much clearer, so much stronger, than it had been a century ago. "I know that. But he's currently unconscious and cannot tell me what I need to do."

"_You have everything you need," _the voice went on. "_You have studied lynels, have you not?"_

Zelda stared at the blade, baffled. "No, I studied ancient technology and botany."

There was a brief pause.

"_There is a 99.9994% chance that Link assumed you studied all things and informed me likewise while his memories were incomplete."_

Zelda shook her head. "Well, he cannot be blamed for that. Are you saying that we need to study lynels? Does Link know whatever it is about lynels that I need to know to save him?"

There was another uncomfortable silence before the blade spoke again. "_That was a most convoluted question, Spirit Maiden. However, you lack the time and materials required to study lynels to the extent necessary to save Link at this time, and neither does Link have the information you seek. However, I have encountered lynels upon multiple occasions and was able to complete my scans upon their being. As a weapon my scans only returned information applicable to combat, but I believe I have data that would be of use to you."_

Zelda raised an eyebrow in surprise. Not only was the voice stronger, but it also seemed more talkative, and apparently had developed a bit of an attitude. _A reflection, perhaps, of how Link has changed?_ "Erm… would you tell me, then?"

"_I believe that if he found out, Link would be most displeased if I withheld such information from you."_

"So are you telling me or not?"

The blade's hilt returned to its usual dark violet-blue color for several moments before flashing a pale teal. "_There is a 100% probability that Link would request this same information upon awakening. Therefore, to save time and perhaps his life, I will relay unto you data that is 87.56% likely to aid his recovery._

"_Lynels will not allow others into their lands unless it is their mating season. However, during this time, from early spring until mid-summer, these creatures become roughly 3.2 times more aggressive towards other males._

"_I have also found that lynels have terrible eyesight due to a pupil diameter of 0.23 centimeters; however, their extraordinary senses of smell and hearing account for this limitation."_

"And how does this help?" Zelda demanded, beginning to feel frustrated with the sacred blade.

There was a slight pause. "_I am forbidden by the Goddesses from directly revealing the correct solutions to anyone, even my master himself."_

_Of course. _Zelda chewed her lip thoughtfully, looking around. Gently she set the sword back down, eager to relieve herself from its uncomfortable presence, and leaned back against the cliffside.

It was right at the beginning of summer. Though Akkala's flaming forests did their best to maintain the illusion of autumn, everything else testified that the warmest days of the year had come. The air smelled of fresh young grass and wildflowers and cool stone; the breezes, when they drifted through, were warm and soothing. Birds sang, not quite as loud as they had in the morning, and the afternoon sun was just a bit fiercer than was comfortable.

_And apparently, lynels are searching for their one and only._

_Which makes them more aggressive._

_And apparently that is why one of them attacked us without even Link noticing it until it was too late._

"They have a strong sense of smell," she mused out loud. "Could it, perhaps, have smelled…" Her voice trailed away and she frowned, thinking hard. _Lynels appear part horse, part man, part… lion?_

And Link was a man and Jackpine a horse, and both were male. "Did it perhaps confuse Link with a male lynel? And it might have smelled me and was confused…"

"_That is correct," _the sword answered rather smugly, and Zelda jumped in surprise. "_I recall that the monstrologist Kilton noticed that Link smells similar to a lynel, most likely because of the time he spends travelling with horses without bathing. He has thus far ignored my suggestions for improving his hygiene while in the wilderness."_

"That isn't particularly helpful," she muttered, feeling her cheeks flush warmly. "So… I know _why _it attacked us, but that doesn't help us -"

She stopped, a strange thought entering her mind. "Those two lynels were so engrossed with fighting each other that they lost all interest in Jackpine and I."

"_It would appear that lynels have a terrible memory as well, although I lack the ability to perform scans that penetrate deeply enough to truly test that."_

Ignoring the sword, Zelda pressed her hands to her temples, feeling the glimpse of an idea beginning to coalesce in her mind. "What if… what if we somehow got them to fight each other again? Then we could ride around them and escape…"

"_An excellent idea. Would you like me to point out the flaws in your reasoning?"_

Zelda frowned at the blade. "By all means, go ahead," she glowered. "It seems perfectly fine to me; they mistook us for a lynel once - why not again? If only _I _am riding Jackpine -"

"_Jackpine still smells like a male, and since the mating season of horses overlaps with that of a lynel, you would be attacked by whichever lynel is closest."_

Zelda huffed impatiently. _This is stupid - and pointless. And most certainly _not _helping me save Link._ "What do you suggest, then?" she demanded. "I can't just walk up to a lynel on my own - it would have to be _literally blind_ not to notice that I am not even half of its height and therefore could not be mistaken for a female lynel. Which makes it impossible for me to lead one lynel to the other, and even if that did work, I would never be able to get away in time - I would be _killed, _and then Link would be on his own entirely."

"_I cannot offer any suggestions at this time. However, I can tell you that you are very close to a solution that has a 73.49% chance of success. I suggest you discuss your plan with Master Link when he awakens."_

Zelda inhaled deeply, struggling to keep her temper in check, balling her hands into fists. _Whose brilliant idea was it to give an immortal sword the ability to communicate?!_

* * *

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**It's currently springtime where I am. After a week of very pleasant weather... it snowed! I'm not joking! But it would have strained credulity to include snow in this story; it seems that Hyrule (although suffering from an abundance of rain) is not as prone as my hometown to random snowstorms, although it certainly would've made for an interesting additional challenge. I hope you're enjoying this story anyway!**


	5. The Monstrologist

**The Monstrologist**

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**James Birdsong: I'm glad you liked it! Thank you for your comments!**

**Makayla Cavin: Aww, thanks! That's so kind of you to say! I'm glad you like their relationship - they're definitely my favorite pairing! Thank you for letting me know what you thought! ( :**

**/\/\/\**

Link did not awaken the rest of the day, and Zelda didn't say another word, hoping it would prompt his aggravating weapon to keep quiet. The night was spent in an uncomfortable state of half-slumber as she struggled to keep her eyes open to watch over her hero but found herself periodically nodding off and dreaming of a lynel in a wedding dress dancing around their campfire.

When the skies finally began to lighten, she found herself awakening, uncomfortably sprawled out on hard stone beside the charred remnants of the fire. Stretching her aching body, she pushed herself to her feet and made her way to the saddlebags, pulling out a chunk of dried meat and struggling to bite it into chewable pieces.

_I'll try to get Link to eat an apple, _she decided, although remembering the arrows that had pierced all the way through his body she instantly began to doubt. _Or… perhaps water is the only thing he should have right now._

The sun continued to rise, and Zelda coaxed a second fire to burn over the ruins of the first. She gazed out over the woodland below, watching shadows slowly slide over the colorful treetops. _There's a lynel in there, somewhere…_

A low sigh roused her from her thoughts, and she turned in surprise to see Link sitting up, the saddle blanket falling from his shoulders. With a wide yawn he slumped back against the cliff and rubbed his good hand over his face, blinking slowly.

"How do you feel?" Zelda asked, quickly moving to his side. His bandages were splotched with dried blood, and the skin over his swollen ribs and wrist had darkened to an ominous violet. Other bruises that she hadn't seen the day before now made themselves known, marring his skin with a swollen, cloudy blue color.

"I'm… alright," he answered with a rueful smile. Zelda narrowed her eyes skeptically, studying his face for signs of pain. _He's hiding it well._

"I know you're lying," she huffed, gently slipping her hand around his. "But… I'm glad to see your smile." Unexpected tears stung her eyes, and she pressed closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He freed his hand from hers to lightly stroke her hair; softly he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Zelda bit back a sob, wishing the lynels had never attacked, wishing that when she opened her eyes Link's wounds would be gone and everything would be alright…

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her tears dripping to his collarbone. "We need to get out of here," he murmured, his voice hard with determination.

Zelda raised her head, inhaling shakily, trying to regain control of her emotions. "I… I have a plan," she offered hesitantly. "Half a plan, at least…"

"It's more than I have," Link sighed, and Zelda caught a glimpse of pain in his eyes.

Swallowing tightly, she pressed on. "If we could get the lynels to fight one another again, we could ride past and they wouldn't notice. It's their mating season - if I could disguise myself as a female and lure one of them to the other, it might work. Only… I look and smell nothing like a lynel…"

She tried to ignore Link's appalled expression. "You can't do that," he protested, eyes wide. "Zelda, it's too dangerous."

"You would be with Jackpine," she said desperately. "The instant they began to fight you could take me away. I - I'm sorry to ask this of you -"

"I would do it in a heartbeat," he interrupted, his voice grim with sincerity. "No matter what wounds I bore. But - but is this the only way for us to get away?"

She nodded slowly, taking his hand once more in hers. "It's all I can think of. And it's all your sword could think of, too."

Link recoiled in surprise, although he couldn't hide a brief grimace of pain. "Y-you spoke with… her?"

"I had thought I could no longer hear her, but it seems she is still willing to intervene when you're in danger," she explained. "Anyway, I… don't think we have any other choice."

The muscles in his jaw tightened, and he looked away from her, brow heavily furrowed. He winced slightly, and Zelda suspected he was doing everything in his power to hide the true depth of his pain.

"Kilton," he said at last, his voice flat with resignation. "Kilton's created a mask capable of fooling a lynel for a short while. It'll… it'll help." He sighed heavily. "I don't like this at all. But… I can't think of anything else."

With a grunt he leaned forward and pulled his tunic from beneath his ankles, clumsily trying to pull it over his shoulders. Cheeks warming with self-consciousness, Zelda tried to help, lifting his left arm carefully and slowly pushing it through his sleeve. He sucked in a sharp gasp as for the briefest moment she tugged at his broken wrist; the little bit of color in his cheeks drained away.

"Sorry," she murmured, gently rubbing his shoulder. He only shrugged, crawling towards the rest of his gear with his bad arm cradled against his chest. "Link… what are you doing?"

"Kilton last said he was studying lizalfos near Skull Lake," he responded, weakly pulling his baldric closer and fiddling with the buckles. "It's not far from here, and… hopefully there won't be any more lynels." Laying the Master Sword's sheathe across his legs he lifted his blade from the ground and slid it into place. "But we might have to fight something."

"_We?" _Zelda echoed, her heart quickening. "You're in no condition to fight -"

"I've fought with worse injuries," he reminded her, an eyebrow raised. "Remember?"

Her mouth went dry. "I'm trying not to. Link, I _cannot_ lose you again-"

"And you won't," he promised with his usual grin, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Stop interrupting! Link, you were shot with two arrows - two arrows that looked like _this!" _Frustration beginning to burn in her soul, she snatched the discarded fragments of the broken arrows from the day before. The double-pronged, jagged tips spanning the width of her hand gleamed in the morning light, stained with his blood. "You're undoubtedly bleeding internally. Moving around, fighting, riding a horse… that'll all make it worse! You can't do this!"

"Then you won't be able to find Kilton," Link growled, his eyes narrowed. "Zelda, it's dangerous to go alone. You're a fair shot with a bow, but so are lizalfos. _And_ they have spears and boomerangs just as jagged and dangerous as those arrows."

"You don't know if we'll come across any! And you said monsters don't attack travellers unless they're provoked -"

"And if they are?" he challenged. "In a narrow canyon, it's more than likely." His eyes flashed closed for a moment and a pained scowl twisted his features. Opening his eyes, he unhooked his bow from his baldric and strung it with a faint groan before snatching an arrow from his quiver. Teeth tightly clenched, he nocked the arrow to the bowstring and pulled it back to his cheek, his left hand trembling from the pain or the effort or both. Nevertheless the arrow sailed true, embedding itself in the grass further down the slope. "That marks the center of a lizalfos's forehead. The eyes will be slightly to each side. You'll need to hit one of them." Switching the bow to his right hand, he held it out to her expectantly.

She glared at him, helplessness coiling in her gut. It wasn't fair - even wounded, he was the best warrior in the kingdom. She knew she wouldn't pass this test.

But that was the problem. He did not know his own limits - or if he did, he chose to ignore them. He never gave up, not until the very end - not until it was too late for him to be saved. _We used the Shrine of Resurrection last time, but it took a century. That's… too long._

Sighing heavily, she took the bow and nocked her own arrow, aiming carefully. The muscles in her arms burned; it had been over a hundred years since she had held such a weapon.

Her arrow landed at least a foot in front of Link's, and too far off to the side. Without a word Link took the bow again and fired a third arrow, striking mere inches from the first.

"Zelda, I'm going with you," he murmured, looking at her without judgement - only concern. "One of us injured is a problem. If _both _of us get hurt, we're done for. I'm used to this; I can work through it. Let me protect you… _please."_

The tears were back. "Fine," she muttered brokenly, tearing her gaze away and lifting Jackpine's saddle blanket in her arms. "Then let's just get this done as quickly as possible."

Marching over to the sturdy dark bay, she heard the creaking of leather and faint tinkling of metal from behind as Link fastened his baldric to his chest. Remembering his broken ribs she cringed, hoping that the leather harness wasn't resting on top of any of them. And then there was that gash over his chest -

_This is a terrible idea._

But she couldn't think of anything to say or do that would dissuade Link from going with her. _Fact is… if there _were _lizalfos, I wouldn't be able to fight them off. Not without getting myself or Jackpine hurt, or both of us killed._

_And then Link really would be doomed._

It was a strange, paradoxical thought. To save him, she had to put him into danger again.

They were quiet as they rode down the gentle slope towards the looming ravine of pockmarked sandstone beyond the trees. The silence was broken only by Link's strained breaths, occasionally hitching with pain. Zelda sat in front, guiding Jackpine forward, as Link sat with one arm loosely curled around her waist. As they descended into the flaming forest, she caught a glimpse of the blue-maned lynel padding calmly beneath the dappled shadows some distance away.

"I see it," Link mumbled in her ear, his voice frightfully tired. "Just keep going."

She swallowed nervously, afraid. _But I trust Link. He… he would never let me get hurt._

_If only he would never let himself get hurt, either…_

Carefully she led Jackpine down into Tempest Gulch, twisted pale walls of stone rising high above her head, hooves clicking against stone and echoing off the sides of the canyon - the only sound. A chill snaked down her spine - it was entirely too ominous for her liking.

A soft breeze whistled by. Jackpine heaved a sigh, taking one slow step after another to ensure Link could remain seated. The rising sun did not yet reach them, but the lightening sky above cast away the shadows of the night. Zelda studied each crack and crevice they passed, searching for any sign of a lizalfos, as she knew Link was doing behind her.

There were several odd rock formations along the canyon walls, oblong and lumpy, with a scaly texture entirely unlike the smooth stone around them. Tiny holes bored through them, but there was something not quite natural about them; the light flowing through was much brighter than the light filtering down into the canyon. _Almost as if… as if they aren't holes at all, but… _eyes…

She couldn't suppress a startled gasp. _Lizalfos!_

"Stay calm," Link muttered in her ear, gently rubbing her shoulder. "We don't bother them, they don't bother us. Remember?"

She inhaled shakily, struggling to control her suddenly racing pulse. _Perhaps, but we are right in the middle of their territory. And there are at least twenty of them -_

They rounded a slight bend in the canyon and her heart leapt back into her throat at the sight of more camouflaged lizalfos crouching along the side of the trail. _Make that twenty five._

And as they neared, she could see their eyes moving, focusing on the nearing intruders, glaring and golden. "_Link…"_

"I'm letting go of you," he murmured. "I have to draw my sword. That doesn't mean I've left, alright? I'm right here. Just keep going; Skull Lake is at the end of the canyon, and Kilton should be around there somewhere."

"Alright," she whispered, fighting to keep her hands steady on Jackpine's reins. Link's comforting hand left her side and she instantly felt colder, but she heard the light ring of his sword against the scabbard and found some of the tension eased from her shoulders. "Link, I… I'm glad you came," she sighed. He didn't respond, but then… the silence between the cliffs discouraged any communication. Zelda herself felt highly uncomfortable with anything more than a whisper.

Jackpine snorted softly, dipping his head, shaking his mane to chase flies from his face. The sharp scrape of his hooves against the stone of the ravine floor rang from stone to stone; somewhere a crow cawed several times, its hoarse voice screeching loudly across the wilderness. A dusty wind blew and Zelda blinked rapidly, raising one hand to shield her eyes.

Around another bend, and the ravine floor widened into a slight meadow beside a large pond, the pockmarked cliff sides twisting up and over her head.

In the middle of the pond, resting on a small, flat island, was a strange cart topped with what appeared to be a bulbous mass of colorful quilts patched together around boxes of supplies, all chained into one. _Kilton's shop?_

She turned to dismount and stifled a gasp, barely managing to keep her seat despite her surprise. "_Link!"_

He was gone.

At that moment, muted screeches and metallic clashes reverberated through the canyon walls towards her. Her heart did a frightened jump - _What in Nayru's name were you _thinking? - and she dismounted, taking a large step forward before halting, her pulse racing.

_If I go back to get him now, the lizalfos might chase us both to Kilton - they might trap us at the end of this canyon. But if I get the mask and leave, and get Link on my way out…_

They would be able to make a run for it. Perhaps, far enough out, the lizalfos would give up on chasing them. _We could enact my plan and get out of here. Get Link to someone who can save him._

A strained cry - Link's cry - reached her ears, and she flinched. Making a decision, she turned towards the strange looking cart and dove without hesitation into the water, striking out towards the shore. It wasn't far; although her clothes weighed her down, she made it to the island in less than a minute and pulled herself quickly to her feet, wincing at the discomfort of standing in soaked clothes.

"Kilton!" she called out, dashing up to the cart only to shriek in surprise.

And the figure within shrieked back, whirling around and tottering slightly, only just managing to catch his balance. He was… egg-shaped, for lack of a better way to explain; his skin was a dark grey, and his eyes, unnaturally large in his equally unnaturally large head, bulged slightly. A tuft of hair sprouted from the top of his forehead; he had a curled moustache and a short, spiky white beard. Upon his large bottom lip were painted two white fangs.

"Oh," he sighed, shaking his head. "It's just a Hylian…"

"Are… are you Kilton?" Zelda squeaked out, still trying to overcome her shock.

His massive face brightened. "Ah! You must have heard I've opened a monster shop so you wanted to see it for yourself!"

Zelda gaped uselessly for a moment before shrugging. "Well… I suppose so, but I really need - do you have -"

"Are you interested in monsters?" he interrupted, eyes widening further than should have been possible.

"W-well, I don't know, maybe -"

He slammed his fist down and she flinched back. "I love monsters more than you do!" he yelped, teeth bared threateningly. But his cheeks quickly flushed in embarrassment. "I… uh, sorry. But the field of monster research is _fascinating! _I -"

It was Zelda's turn to interrupt. "I'm sure it is," she said, rather testily. "I myself am an avid researcher of ancient technology. But that is not the point - my friend, Link, is badly wounded, and -"

"Link?" Kilton tilted his head. "My business partner? Brings me the monster parts I need for my studies? That same Link?"

Zelda wrinkled her nose. _He… never mentioned _that… _disgusting! _"Yes, that same Link. We've been trapped by two lynels, so he sent me to get a mask from you that would help us get by them. _Please; _it's imperative that we escape as quickly as possible!"

Kilton shook his head with a sad chuckle. "Hate to say it, but that won't work. Any other time of year, sure, my mask would let you go right by without a problem. But it's the lynel mating season! Unless you're a female lynel, they'll just tear apart anyone who enters their territory! _Incredible!"_

"I know," Zelda huffed, wringing her fingers as she glanced back towards the canyon. "But as it happens, I am a female, and wearing the lynel mask, I could pass as a female lynel. I'd lead the two together, get them to start fighting each other, and then Link and I would get away while they're distracted. Now, _please - _the mask!"

Kilton's eyes had widened again. "Ingenious!" he squealed, clapping his hand down once again on the countertop. "You must tell me if you are successful! Well, I, er, I suppose the only way you _would_ be able to tell me is if you were successful; otherwise you'd be dead… but still! Disguising oneself as a female lynel…" He gasped, clapping his hands to his cheeks. "_That's it!_ That's the way to study lynels up close - it's _perfect! _Of course, there are the dangers to be considered when parading about as a female lynel… and the inevitable realization that I'm not, in fact, what they think I am…" He giggled nervously. "And the fact that I'm not actually female at all."

He looked at her curiously. "I don't suppose you would be willing to pose as the female lynel _for _me, and just take notes while you're with them?"

Zelda inhaled deeply, her hands clenching into fists. _First a talking sword. Now an avid monstrologist. _"I just need the lynel mask. _Now,_ if it's not too much trouble - before Link is _killed!"_

Unexpected tears stung her eyes, and Kilton looked surprised. "I - well, sure. It'll be taken out of Link's account, you understand - let me see…" Quickly he pulled out a small notebook and flipped through its pages. "Actually, he's my only customer so far… him and this one girl who can't get enough of my monster extract. Her name was Chabi, I think... Alright; looks like his current balance is 1,000 mon. That'll get you one lynel mask."

"Yes," Zelda said, resisting the urge to stamp her foot in frustration.

"Here you go!" Kilton sang, turning and reaching up to one of the shelves hidden from view by the mass of quilts above his cart. The mask he pulled down was more realistic than Zelda had expected. It would have passed for an actual lynel if not for the colored glass button eyes.

"This will fool a lynel?" she asked skeptically.

Kilton twisted his hands nervously. "For a short time, yes… I haven't been able to study them as much as the other monsters, so…"

"It'll have to do," she murmured, taking it into her hands and sliding it over her head. It stank of sweat and horse; her vision was dizzyingly distorted by the buttons, but she could still see enough to do what she needed. "Thank you."

Without another word, she turned and dove back into the pond, the water feeling slightly warmer this time around. Arm over arm she swam to the shore and all but sprinted out, springing onto Jackpine's back and digging her heels into his sides. Eager to return to his master, he willingly leapt into a fierce gallop, pounding along the ravine, hooves clattering madly around the bends until they reached the battle.

Link stood, trembling, in the midst of a horde of lizalfos, perhaps five of them dead. His face was deathly pale, with blood trickling from his lips, arms, and chest. Zelda reached her hand down as she neared, urging Jackpine right into the middle of the monsters. "_Link!"_

Her heart stopped for a petrifying moment when he looked towards her, distracted, and a lizalfos swiped its tail at his legs, knocking them out from beneath him. With a pained groan he stumbled, but the instant she reached him he surged to his feet and snatched the back of Jackpine's saddle blanket, pulling himself one-handedly onto the horse's broad back. Zelda sagged in relief, feeling him slumping forward against her.

"You idiot," she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. "Why would you do that? You said that they would leave us alone if we didn't bother them!"

She didn't expect, or really want, him to reply. "Too many of them," he mumbled between shuddering breaths. "W-we were too… too deep in their t-territory… th-they had… hatchlings…"

"Jackpine's faster," she reminded him, fighting to keep her voice from quavering. Already the victory cries of the lizalfos were fading. "And you should have spared your strength - remember our plan? I'll need you to get me away, but now -"

"I can still do it," he protested, determination dissipating the weakness in his voice. "I won't… let them hurt you…"

Zelda opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn't find the will to say what she wanted. _But you'll let them hurt you, again and again and again, not realizing that by doing so, you're hurting me, too..._

* * *

**/\/\/\**

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**I have a question for you guys; feel free to PM me or include it in a review if you want to answer. An upcoming story I've been working on would flow much better if I took the creative liberty as a writer of fanfiction and moved memory 12, Father and Daughter, to some time more recently after memory 7, Blades of the Yiga. In this particular story, it would make more sense to have those two memories closer together. What do you guys think? Is that too much change, or would you be alright with it?**

**Thank you for reading!**


	6. Lynel Encounter

**Lynel Encounter**

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Zelda insisted on stopping just outside of the canyon, even though the blue-maned lynel was somewhere in the nearby woodlands and it was far from safe. But she had felt something suspiciously warm and wet slowly seeping through the back of her tunic as they fled from the lizalfos.

Sure enough, a large, fresh bloodstain marred the front of Link's tunic. Actually, there were several fresh bloodstains, courtesy of his decision to fight the lizalfos. With shaking hands he pulled his tunic over his body and Zelda cringed.

The wound across his chest from the lynel, along with the ragged gashes torn by the two shock arrows, had once again begun to bleed. Joining them were several smaller cuts made by the vicious, jagged edges of the lizalfos' weapons. Many were shallow, but the rest were frighteningly deep.

He made an odd face at her - she couldn't tell if he was trying to smile or if he was grimacing from the agony. "N-not s'bad as it looks," he mumbled, even as a fresh stream of blood escaped his lips.

Zelda just shook her head, knowing that if she tried to speak she would burst into tears. Quickly she pulled off the lynel mask so that she could see clearly; then she took Jackpine's saddlebags and began digging through them, searching for the remaining bandages. _You… you _stupid _man!_ What had driven him to plant himself right in the middle of all of those lizalfos? She would have been safe - they _both _would have been safe if he hadn't done anything! _We would have gotten the mask and galloped back through the canyon -_

"Lizalfos are clever," Link coughed, pushing himself straighter, eyeing her anxiously. "They normally wouldn't attack if we let them alone. But they… they had hatchlings with them. You saw how many there were - it was a massive group. Feeding that many, in that type of terrain, with a lynel next door -" He coughed again, grabbing at his side with his good hand. "And - and we were riding to a d-dead end. They would've cornered us. Killed us both - and Jackpine, too. As - as it is, I… I distracted them… gave them something else to…"

"Don't speak," Zelda said at last, her voice shaking. "For Din's sake, _save your strength._ This is our only way out. I _need _you to be strong enough, Link."

He gazed at her through half-closed eyes, gasping shallow breaths through his barely parted lips. "Alright," he murmured. "I can… do that…"

She finally found the much too small roll of remaining bandages. _It isn't enough. _But it would have to do. She moved to his side and tightly wrapped the worst of his wounds, somehow managing to keep her tears at bay until she reached a wide gash on his shoulder; there was something strange deep within it, a shade lighter than his skin, although it was drenched in blood. Frightened, her pulse accelerating, she pressed lightly down on it -

Link howled in pain, jerking instinctively away from her and collapsing on his side on the ground, his good hand curling into a trembling fist as his ragged breaths grew even more strained.

Zelda's mouth went dry. _That was… that was _bone…

And the tears began to fall. Biting her lip furiously, she wrapped that last deep wound tightly, her throbbing heart splitting asunder at Link's feeble cries. When she finished, her breaths stuttering with silent sobs, she gazed for a moment at her hero.

Sprawled on his side in the grass, his body quivering and unnaturally pale, Link was the picture of raw agony. Wiping at her eyes with one hand, Zelda reached down and gently ran her fingers through his hair, trying to be of some comfort. Fear and pain stung her heart. With every drop of blood that trickled from his mouth her hope for their survival dwindled more and more.

_My plan depends on him being able to pull me back to Jackpine._

She had considered just letting the lynels have her while Link rode obliviously to safety, but… it would never work.

Link had remained by her side, fighting to protect her, even with literal holes bored through his chest and limbs. His nature was one of self-sacrifice - she would never be able to convince or fool him into leaving her behind.

She had tried that so many times in the past… before she learned to appreciate and - and love him. Not once had she succeeded.

No, sacrificing herself was not an option. Link would not leave until she was safely beside him. And if it seemed that their plan would go awry…

Well. She had seen what happened with the lizalfos only minutes earlier. He would fight, no matter how wounded he already was.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured, lightly stroking his sweat-matted hair. Pain-dulled cerulean eyes gazed blearily up at her. "This is all my fault - it was my idea to embark on this mad journey, and -"

"Stop," Link whispered. "You didn't know… this'd happen. Neither of us… could've known…"

She clenched her teeth tightly together, eyes firmly shut as more tears trickled down her cheeks. Slowly she shook her head, shoulders slumped in defeat and desperation. _No, I didn't think this could happen. But it was still _my _idea to do this in the first place! And now… now…_

She forced her mind away from the cold reality. A sob shook her shoulders, and she gripped her head in her hands, heart pounding, shaking her head. _No… be strong. Be strong for Link. He doesn't need -_

A light touch on her arm jolted her from her self-chastisement and she opened her eyes to see Link gazing at her, kneeling upright at her side, pallid and shivering but with eyes burning with concern and determination. His good hand rested on her upper arm, a comforting touch that Zelda hadn't realized she'd been yearning for.

"I'm so sorry," she choked out through her tears, lowering her hands from her face. It took all of her willpower not to throw herself into his embrace as she had done so many times before - _he's wounded; it'll only hurt him - _but it was Link who pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her and pressing a gentle kiss to the top of her head. Her resolve crumbled and she sagged against his chest, burying her face in his shoulder and tentatively letting her arms curl around him. "I'm _sorry," _she whimpered again, feeling the weight of so many mistakes crashing down on her.

Not unlocking her powers quickly enough to save him the first time.

Being unable to access her powers _now, _when they could have stopped the lynels.

Being so weak-minded that Link felt the need to comfort her when she wanted so desperately to be the one comforting _him._

_Goddesses curse it - why couldn't we just have a normal journey for once? After everything else that has happened - _why?

"It's alright," Link soothed, his voice low and soft. "We'll… we'll get out of this."

She nodded slowly, taking in a shaking breath and pulling away. _Come on. Get a hold of yourself. _"I… I hope the lynels don't mind a few tears," she managed, forcing a watery smile.

Link's features tightened, and he looked for a moment as if he were going to say something, to protest. At last he shook his head, shoulders slightly slumped. "I'll get you out of there as soon as I can," he promised, looking deep into her eyes.

With a sudden sharp cry, he pushed himself to his feet and staggered backwards, his back colliding with the pale wall of the cliff. Zelda quickly stood, taking his arm and draping it over her shoulders, allowing him to relieve his weight from his injured foot. "Are you ready?"

"Let's just get this over with," he responded, not exactly answering her question. The trembling of his body intensified and he whimpered faintly as they walked forward, closing the small distance between them and Jackpine. The horse's nostrils flared and he tossed his head, eyeing Link with uncertainty. Link shrugged himself free of Zelda with a wince and reached a shaking hand out to his horse, soothing him with words too quiet for her to hear.

Sighing, muttering a prayer under her breath, she packed what remained of the bandages into the saddle bag and reached for Link's tunic, lying discarded and bloodied on the ground. It was much too bloodied now to be worn, so she stuffed it into the bag with the bandages. _Perhaps someone will be able to fix it for him if we… if this works._

Determined, she fetched a small piece of twine from the saddle bag, braiding her hair and tying it in place to keep it out of the way. Then she donned the lynel mask once again and returned to Jackpine. Link was already mounted somehow, although his back was hunched and his head bowed.

_How long before his strength runs out?_

She reached up and curled her hand around his. "I'll go now," she said, trying to sound braver than she felt. "Just… be ready, alright?"

He nodded grimly, his features slack and eyebrows drawn in a rare expression of fear. "Be careful," he murmured, giving her hand a light squeeze.

She gulped and released him, turning to face the colorful forest in the valley below. Without a backwards glance, holding her head high, she started off down the gently sloping hill. _Be brave. Show no fear - it can probably sense weakness. I cannot afford that._

Leaves crunched beneath her booted feet as she passed beneath the first several trees. A warm summer breeze fluttered around her, rustling the branches over her head and playing with the thick white mane of what was probably real lynel fur around her mask. _Nayru, Din, Farore… please bless us with success._

She could see the blue-maned lynel walking calmly in a small clearing just ahead. He raised his head as birds flew overhead and let out a heavy sigh, folding his legs beneath him to lie down in a patch of sunshine. It was an oddly peaceful scene; for a moment she could understand Kilton's fascination with such creatures. _Clearly there is more to their lives than battle… right?_

It was not long before the lynel spotted her, first raising his head and sniffing the air before turning to look directly at her. Zelda froze, heart hammering, petrified by its burning yellow gaze. Swallowing thickly, she took another step forward, and the lynel got to his feet, arms held apart from his sides.

Ready to grab a weapon.

_He thinks I'm a threat. Oh, Farore above… what do I do?_

Shakily she bent down to examine one of the many wildflowers on the ground. _I'm small. Not a threat. Don't attack - please!_

After several moments she got to her feet again, keeping her head slightly bowed. The lynel was still staring at her, but his shoulders had relaxed. He began walking forward, heavy hooves crunching loudly on the old leaves littering the forest floor. _Here we go._

She looked away from the massive creature and walked slowly away, matching his cautious pace and heading north through the forest, towards the white-maned lynel's territory. Heavy footfalls trailed her, along with heavy, grunting breaths. _That's it… just keep following me…_

All at once, and entirely unexpectedly, she found herself wishing she'd taken the Master Sword with her. Annoying though it was, perhaps it could have told her what a lynel's courtship ritual entailed. Then she would know how to better ensure the blue-maned lynel followed her.

_Goddesses above… I'm trying to _flirt _with a lynel._

The light filtering down through the canopy began to fade slightly; looking up she saw a cloud passing slowly beneath the sun. In the morning the skies had been clear, but it was not uncommon in Hyrule for rainstorms to pop up seemingly out of nowhere. Although for now it was just one cloud, as far as she could see, that didn't mean a storm wasn't on its way.

The footsteps behind her stopped when she reached the edge of the woods. Slowly she turned around to find the lynel some paces away, staring at her. She gulped, nervously raising a hand and fidgeting with her mask. _He doesn't know, right? He doesn't know I'm not a lynel? Why did you stop?_

He stared at her a moment longer before shaking himself and continuing towards her. Feeling nearly nauseous with anxiety, she turned around again and left the confines of the forest behind her. She felt horribly exposed, out there on the grassy hillside all alone except for a lynel.

And that didn't count.

_Nayru's love - I'm _alone. _Really alone._

Her brave knight was not there to protect her (and nor did she want him to, considering his wounds). No one was. She was entirely on her own, and if the lynel decided to kill her, there would be no stopping him.

Fear seemed to wilt her heart at the thought, and she suppressed the urge to curl in on herself or flee back to the illusion of safety the cover of trees provided. Her knees shook as she took another step forward, up the hill, ever upwards, to where the white-maned lynel roamed unaware. And the heavy plodding of footsteps from behind assured her that the blue-maned lynel had not yet abandoned her.

Halfway up the hill, she noticed the white-maned lynel staring at her from the top. _Alright. Now I stop - now I try keep this one here with me._

She turned slightly, leading the blue-maned lynel in a wide turn, as if they were heading back to his forest. _If only Link would just run now, while it's clear!_

But she could see Jackpine only just concealed by a tree and several large bushes at the base of the hill, and she knew that Link wouldn't leave her, even to save himself.

_He's not that selfish._

She stopped walking, facing the forest - that way the blue-maned lynel's back would be to the other lynel, hopefully preventing him from fleeing. For a moment she felt horribly guilty, taking advantage of a creature's instincts or feelings or whatever this was in such a way. _Will he feel betrayed when I run?_

_Will he be angry?_

_Oh, Din - what if he attacks us as we get away?_

Too late to have second thoughts. She faced the blue-maned lynel, seeing out of the corner of her eye the white-maned lynel walking down the hill towards them. _Good. It's working, at least._

The blue-maned lynel snorted, taking another step forward. Then he pulled his fists back to his sides and leaned forward, jaws parting in a terrifying roar that seemed to create a ferocious gust of wind swirling around them. Zelda whimpered, shuddering, closing her eyes for the briefest moment as her heart raced with fear. _Please don't eat me, please, please…_

And then an answering roar, more distant, and the thundering of approaching hoofbeats. Zelda's eyes flashed open and she screamed as the white-lynel neared, massive sword drawn and ready. Stamping a hoof, the blue maned lynel pulled out his own weapon and swung it powerfully over his head, slamming it into the white lynel's side. Zelda backpedalled desperately, just in time to escape death beneath the white lynel's hooves.

Growling ferociously at each other, the two monsters merely stared for a moment before the blue lynel lunged again, but the white one dodged the blow and tore a gash in his thick hide. With an angry roar the blue lynel slammed his massive club to the ground and both Zelda and the white lynel stumbled; she staggered helplessly to the ground as the white lynel merely lost his footing for a moment, only to have the blue lynel's club slam into his side once more. The white lynel growled, shaking off the impact, and rose up onto his hind legs, leaping at the blue lynel and forcing him to the ground.

"Zelda!"

She pushed herself to her feet on wobbly legs, turning in relief to see Link charging towards her on Jackpine with his hand outstretched. Heart hammering in her throat as a fearsome roar shook the ground behind her, she dashed towards him, her own hand raised.

An instant before he reached her the blue lynel's club smashed the ground again and she fell, tumbling forward into the grass as Jackpine's hooves crashed down inches from her face. Her breath caught in her throat and she stared blankly ahead, fear coursing through her veins, freezing her blood. _That close… I was that close to d…_

Shaking her head, trying to clear her haphazard, terrified thoughts, she pushed herself to her feet. Link had turned Jackpine around and was coming for her again; she reached out to him and felt his hand close around her wrist. A sudden jerk and a terrifying moment where all that anchored her to anything was Link's hand as his face contorted in agony from the effort and he swung her onto Jackpine's back behind him. Then all at once she was clinging to him, tears streaming from her eyes as she shuddered with relief.

Link whirled Jackpine around once again. Raging lynels on one side, freedom just ahead. Lightly squeezing his horse's sides with his knees, he urged him into a swift, desperate gallop.

And the two lynels turned to look at them. Zelda made eye contact with the blue one for just an instant and fear frosted her soul. _Goddesses, no…_

The two monsters, now unified by a common enemy, turned towards them. Link had already turned Jackpine away, towards the forest; he slid the Master Sword from its sheath as the monsters descended. "Faster," Zelda heard him mutter. "C'mon…"

The white-maned lynel was faster, swiftly closing the distance between them, running for them nearly head on. Zelda wanted to closer her eyes, but she couldn't; she was transfixed by the sight of their deaths pounding steadily closer. Holding the reins in one hand - his injured one - she could tell that Link was having difficulty maneuvering Jackpine away. Ears laid back against his skull, the dark bay horse veered slightly to the side as the lynel passed with his sword outstretched.

Link doubled over with a faint grunt. And then the white lynel was behind them, and the only the blue-maned lynel was left ahead of them. He raised his vicious club horizontally as they neared, aiming to knock them from Jackpine's back. Again, Jackpine skittered to the side, tossing his head anxiously, but the blue-maned lynel swiftly changed direction to pursue them. Link released the reins to reach over his shoulder and grab Zelda's lynel mask, pulling her with him nearly flat against Jackpine's back as the massive club whooshed by just above them. Jackpine squealed in terror and continued to run, charging desperately over the grass.

Zelda sagged in relief, tightening her grip around Link's waist. She glanced over her shoulder; both lynels were behind them now, too far away to catch up.

And then she heard a familiar distant crackle. The white-maned lynel had drawn his bow, and there were three shock arrows nocked on the bowstring. "Link…"

He didn't look back. He made no acknowledgement that she had even said anything. But the instant the electric zing of the arrows released from the bowstring reached their ears, he switched the Master Sword to his weaker hand and firmly took the reins, guiding Jackpine into a sharp turn. The arrows impaled the ground behind them.

Zelda looked behind her again. She could barely see the lynels now, and from what she could tell they were merely staring after them, not making any move to attack. At the very least, she couldn't see the telltale glow of a shock arrow.

_We… we did it. We're out of this mess. Everything… everything will be alright._

The lynels were far behind them now - _too _far. Jackpine panted heavily in time to his drumming hooves tearing up the ground beneath them; sweat dampened his sides and his ears lay flat against his skull, betraying lingering fear.

"S'alright," she heard Link mumble as he tugged lightly on the reins. Jackpine tossed his head with an anxious whinny, but he slowed his pace to a swift walk, head low. Link patted his neck with the hand that held the reins.

Zelda closed her eyes, her heart hammering violently. She pulled the lynel mask from her head and sucked in gulps of crisp, fresh air, letting the mask tumble from her hands. Feeling suddenly weak and shaky, she leaned forward against Link's back with a small sigh. _We're safe. We're safe. It worked - thank the Goddesses, it worked!_

They passed through a small scattering of trees, fiery leaves rustling, a startled deer leaping out from behind several bushes. Strange yellow flowers grew in clumps among the grass, seemingly ordered in some sort of pattern. The clouds overhead were beginning to coalesce, sending a slight chill through the summer air, bathing the world in shadow.

Link sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping in exhaustion. Zelda raised her head and adjusted her grip around his waist, hoping to cause him less pain than he was undoubtedly already in -

And her hand came into contact with warm liquid.

She tensed. _He's bleeding again._

"Don't worry," he mumbled. "M'alright."

"You're not," she whispered, tightening her hold around him. "Someone will be able to help you at the stable, right? Someone will know what to do?"

He didn't respond right away. More blood oozed onto her hands. "Maybe."

Tears stung her eyes. _That's not good enough._

Jackpine's ears twitched backwards, and he sped up his walk. The stable was close now, just within the next copse of Akkala's unique trees. Leaves red, like fire. Like blood. A cold wind salty with the sea shook those crimson leaves, and Zelda felt Link shudder. The sky overhead was a dark, ominous gray.

A weak groan. Link's head drooped forward, and all of a sudden he was leaning to the side. His battered body slumped to the side as if his limbs had turned to jelly; Zelda grabbed for him but she wasn't strong enough to keep him from falling down. Jackpine sidestepped away, tossing his head, a low rumble escaping his deep throat. Link lay motionless on the dusty ground, limbs splayed, blood dripping from a fresh wound in his side halfway up his ribcage.

The moment when they passed by the white-maned lynel. Jackpine swerving away at the last possible moment. Link flinching, doubling over on his horse's back… He had gotten struck again.

Blood trickled from his mouth and nose - indicators of severe internal bleeding.

Zelda's heart pounded.

He looked dead.

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**/\/\/\**

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**Thank you to everyone who answered my question last time! And thank you all for reading!**


	7. Fight for Survival

**Fight for Survival**

**/\/\/\**

"_Link!"_ Zelda screeched, slipping from Jackpine's back and diving to his side.

His eyelashes fluttered and he looked at her blearily, a cough rattling in his lungs. "S-stable," he muttered. With a hoarse shout he rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself first to his knees and then to his feet, ignoring Zelda's breathless protests.

"Link, _stop it -_ please; you'll just make it worse," she whimpered, draping his arm around her shoulder. He shook his head slowly, sliding his good leg across the ground. Zelda moved with him, fighting the tears stinging her eyes. "_Help!" _she shouted. A large paddock inhabited by several sheep and a few cuccos lay between them and the stable, but beyond that she could see people gathered around a cooking fire by a tall tree.

She adjusted her grip on Link's sweaty, bloodied skin. Nearly all of his weight hung from her shoulders and she struggled to take another step forward; practically all of his body mass consisted of toned muscle. "Help!" she cried out again, her breath quickening from the exertion of holding him upright.

At last she could see someone getting to their feet and peering curiously at them. A muffled shout - the traveller ran into the stable while the others stood, craning their necks.

Jackpine trotted the small distance between him and his master and kept pace with them as they shuffled forward. He whinnied loudly, ears twitching forwards, and Zelda could hear an answering whinny in response from the long row of stalls attached to the side of the stable. She all but dragged Link forwards, wishing that she had the strength to lift him back onto his horse's back.

There was more shouting from the stable ahead of them. More of the people gathered by the cooking fire fled inside, while two others dashed towards the blood-soaked travellers approaching.

"Here, lad. You'll be alright," a heavily bearded man said with a forced smile, slipping Link's other arm across his shoulders and slowly helping him move forward. "I think Khini went to fetch Borville."

The heavily-tanned Gerudo joining him scowled. "He shouldn't be moving with his foot all twisted like that," she pointed out. "Lay him down; we'll carry him. It'll be faster."

"N-no…" Link mumbled with a hoarse groan, but Zelda ignored his protest and helped the other two set him back down. The Gerudo carefully lifted his calves as the bearded man took his shoulders, and at a much swifter pace they took him towards the stable.

Zelda heaved the unwilling Master Sword into her arms and walked after them as fast as she could. Jackpine followed obediently, ears erect and alert. When they reached the cooking fire, a woman Zelda remembered tending to Aspen hurried up to them and took Jackpine's bridle, leading him to the other horses. Aspen was already eagerly stretching her head over the door to her stall.

"Clear the door!" a familiar voice called out from within the stable as they neared, straining over the excited, panicked conversation of the crowd hovering just within the stables. Zelda could see the conical hat of Rudi, the stable master, hovering over the heads of the others. "Let them through - we've got an emergency here! Make way!"

As the two carrying Link hurried forwards, the gaggle of travellers was quick to step aside, staring with wide eyes as they passed. Zelda hurried behind them, keeping as close as she could. Strains of conversation fluttered all around her, worried, intrigued, curious.

"How old is that guy, anyway?"

"What in Din's name could've happened to them?"

"He looks kind of like that kid we saw in Tarrey Town a few months ago…"

"Who's that girl following behind him? She's covered in blood -"

"...must've run into some monsters…"

Rudi led them down a small corridor away from the major sleeping quarters, into a small, clean room with a large window and very few furnishings - several cupboards, a long, uncomfortable-looking cot, and a small fireplace with flames crackling away beneath a steaming black kettle. "Ah, good - Borville's got water on already," the stable master murmured anxiously, wringing his hands. "Set him down on the bed, there - _careful!"_

As the two travellers put Link on the cot, Zelda slid the Master Sword beneath it and straightened, only to find Rudi's anxious gaze resting on her.

"What happened?" he asked, twisting his hands. "When you left yesterday morning, I - and you didn't come back in the evening like you said… Blessed Goddesses, _what happened?"_

Zelda swallowed tightly. "We were attacked by lynels… and lizalfos," she answered softly. "I treated his wounds as best I could. We only just barely managed to escape."

The bearded man turned to stare at her with disbelief written across his face. "Y'mean to say that you _survived _a lynel attack? Those things -"

"_Halfway _survived," the Gerudo interrupted, her stern gaze softening as she studied Link's bloodied form. "What were you thinking, going after something like that? It's a wonder you both weren't killed!"

Zelda shivered, curling her arms around herself. "We weren't trying to fight it. It caught us off guard; we had no idea we'd entered its territory."

An uncomfortable silence fell. Then Link coughed, his back arching and his face twisting in a grimace of pain. Rudi winced. "I'll go find Borville," he decided, nodding as if to reassure himself. "He said he'd only be a moment, but… well, he's not the best..." Shaking his head, the stable master left the little room, offering Zelda one last sympathetic look.

The bearded traveller sighed heavily. "Well… it's a small room; I wouldn't want to get in old Borville's way. Will you be alright, miss?" He looked at Zelda with genuine concern.

Hesitantly she dipped her chin in a nod. _I will be as long as Link lives._

The Gerudo placed a comforting hand on Zelda's shoulder. "We'll be by the cooking fire if you need anything. Food, someone to talk to… anything at all."

"Thank you," Zelda murmured, and the two of them walked out of the room, leaving behind a last sad smile. Zelda turned to Link, who was gazing at her through half-closed eyes, looking every inch the exhausted, battered hero he was.

"Jackpine?" he croaked, and she could see blood pooling in his mouth. Forcing her features to remain calm, she knelt beside the cot and took his good hand in hers.

"He's taken care of," she assured him. "Aspen's there, too… She looked quite happy, from what I could see."

Guilt flashed across his features, and he looked utterly miserable. "Sorry," he murmured, taking in a shuddering breath. "M'sorry for… what happened t'her…"

Zelda tried to smile. "She's fine, Link. The people at the stable took great care of her - I could tell, even though it's only been a day. And… and they'll take care of you, too…" Her voice wavered, and she shut her mouth, unable to say more without losing the fragile control she had gained over her fear for him.

Only moments later, Rudi returned with a strange looking old man vaguely similar in appearance to Robbie. Two long tufts of gray hair sprouted backwards from his skull behind his two exceptionally long ears. Thick round glasses magnified his eyes above a long, crooked nose. He was dressed in an elegant cream-colored overcoat with gold embroidery over a tunic an ugly shade of brown. His back was hunched, emphasizing the girth of his belly, and he was painfully short - almost as short as Robbie.

"This is Borville," Rudi explained. "He's our physician."

Borville grumbled, squinting at Link. "Well, they weren't exaggerating, kid," he sighed, waddling closer. "Let's see… Rudi, I'll need some rope. I think… I think everything else is already in here."

"I'm on it," Rudi promised, dipping his head respectfully to Zelda before leaving the little room.

"Wait," she called out, and he turned back in surprise. Zelda clasped her hands together anxiously. "We… I have friends here," she explained quietly. "They live in the old lighthouse at the top of Tumlea Heights. Robbie? Do you know him?"

Rudi squinted at her. "Unusual old man, but… yes, I do."

"Can you let him know what happened?" Zelda asked. _I could really use a friend right now - I don't know how much longer I can last on my own with Link d… with Link like this._

Rudi studied her a moment longer before nodding. "Of course. I'll send one of my stable hands up there right now." Offering her a grim, consoling smile, he walked out of the room again.

"Can you hear me, boy?" Borville asked, bending over the cot. Link nodded slowly, his breath rattling within him. "Well… some of what I'm going to do is going to hurt. But if you struggle, it'll hurt worse, so you need to try to hold still and stay calm. Got it?"

"Yeah…" Link rasped, blinking sluggishly. His eyes rolled to meet Zelda's gaze, and she took his hand, not trusting herself to speak. Borville shuffled to one of the cupboards and pulled down several thick cloths, bringing them back to the cot and pressing them firmly against the most recent wound from the lynel, where the bleeding was the heaviest. Link's eyes snapped closed, a slight shudder wracking his body.

"Ma'am, I'm going to ask you to press down right here," he murmured, lifting his bespectacled gaze to look at Zelda. "My assistants quit a couple weeks ago - some sort of disagreement with my methods. So you're going to have to help me on this."

Zelda nodded, reluctantly releasing her grip on Link's hand and walking around to the other side of the cot, hesitating only a moment before pushing down firmly on the deep gash in his side.

Borville nodded approvingly. "Good. let me know when they're soaked through; I'll give you more." He scanned Link's torso again before starting to unwind the blood-soaked bandages over the arrow wounds.

Link coughed again, convulsing on the bed, blood spilling from his lips in a sickening stream. His chest heaved and his hands curled into fists; he threw his head back, jaws parted desperately in a nearly silent cry of pain.

"Internal bleeding," Borville muttered gruffly. "Din curse it - I dunno about this..."

Zelda gulped, meeting Link's dizzy gaze as he coughed again, his head flopping to the side as blood splattered to the thin mattress beneath him. "It'll be alright," she murmured, reaching her free hand up to his head and lightly stroking his hair, wishing she truly believed it.

"Mmmh," he moaned, blinking sluggishly.

Borville finished removing the bandages over the arrow wounds and took a step back. "Infection."

Zelda's head snapped up. "Wh-what? But I cleaned them nearly the moment I could get the bleeding to stop -"

"And did whatever you used as a disinfectant get to _every_ part of these wounds?" He shook his head. "These go _all the way through _his body, miss. And they seem quite jagged as well…"

"Caused by shock arrows," she whispered, her heart beginning to pound with unquenchable fear once more.

Borville snorted. "Shock arrows," he echoed in disbelief. "I am not equipped to deal with those kinds of wounds - and you'd be hard pressed to find someone who is!"

Link groaned, his body twisting on the bed in agony. Zelda stared at the physician desperately. "Won't you even try? _Please?"_

Borville stroked his tiny chin, eyes narrowed upon the two ugly wounds. "Rudi!" he yelled, causing Zelda to jump with surprise. "Get a thin metal rod while you're at it; have it sterilized and heated!"

"Right!" Rudi called distantly from somewhere in another room.

Borville turned his gaze to Zelda. "I'll do my best, but these are gruesome wounds. You… you should be prepared for the worst."

Zelda's eyes watered. _Not again, Link… not again!_

**/\/\/\**

_Link facedown on the ground after taking yet another direct hit from a guardian. His body twitching, convulsing as he attempted to stand, pushing at the ground with battered, bloodied limbs. Each agonized groan bubbling in his throat as blood trickled past his lips. Rapid, shallow breaths, followed by a heart-wrenching half-sob, half whimper of agony as he finally managed to lurch to his feet. His blood - and more - gushing onto her hands as she tried to steady him, to help in some way._

_His chin trembling as he, the greatest warrior in the kingdom, sobbed from the unbearable pain of it all._

_The Hero of Hyrule - quite literally torn apart._

_But his eyes, dull and filled with tears, somehow burned with strength and determination as he looked at her, and then with a short scream he pulled himself away from her to face the next guardian -_

**/\/\/\**

_No!_

Her eyes flashed open, tears trickling down her cheeks. _He's alive, he's alive, he's alive, _she told herself over and over again. _And it's going to stay that way. This isn't what happened before -_

"Don't…" a ragged voice murmured, and she lifted her head to see Link gazing at her through half-closed eyes, a mixture of pain and concern etched on his weary face. "Don't cry…"

"Save your strength, boy," Borville snapped. "You want to live? Then be quiet. And… try to relax."

Zelda looked fearfully at the swollen flesh around the two newly reopened arrow wounds. "Wh-what will you do?"

Borville went to her side and carefully pulled back the cloths she had been using to slow the flow of blood. Bending over the wound, he prodded it carefully. Link tensed, a strangled cry of pain ripping from his throat through tightly clenched teeth. "Din curse it… this one's struck his stomach… can't tell if it's just grazed, or..."

Zelda winced. "Borville, how are you going to treat this?" she asked again, more firmly.

"First off," he growled, not sparing her a glance, "a method to _safely_ sew shut lacerated innards doesn't exist, s'far as I know. So what I'm going to attempt is undoubtedly more help than you'd get from anyone else. Second, from the looks of things, your boy here is stronger than many other people I've treated. Which means he might survive what I'll try."

Zelda gulped, dread curdling in her gut. _That doesn't sound good..._

He paused, taking two more cloths and placing them on top of the first several, which were now soaked through with blood. "The best I can do is kill the infection and seal off the edges. Cauterizing gets both of those done - the issue is that the wounds go right through him, so everything that got punctured probably won't work right ever again. And that could also kill him."

Zelda gulped. She looked at Link's tense face, frighteningly pale and twisted with pain. _Will it be enough? Will you be strong enough?_

Borville added another cloth to the bloodied pile on Link's chest. "I need more hands," he mumbled under his breath. "Alright, miss. I need you to start cleaning these other wounds. Apply pressure until the bleeding -"

"I know; I've done it before," Zelda interrupted, taking down several more cloths from the cupboard and turning to study her hero's body. The shallowest of the wounds from the lizalfos had long since stopped bleeding, but would still need to be cleaned. _Priorities first, though - stop the bleeding where it's worst._

Besides the one Borville was working on, she identified six others that were still bleeding and seemed deeper than the others. She started with the one that had reached bone on his shoulder, murmuring quiet apologies as his shallow breathing quickened and soft groans rushed past his bloodied lips. _You'll be alright,_ she told herself, wishing she truly believed it.

Working so close to his neck, she took a moment to feel his pulse while her other hand pressed down hard on his shoulder. His heartbeat throbbed rapidly against her two fingers beneath ice-cold skin. Zelda gulped, removing her hand. _How much blood has he lost? How much more can he afford to lose?_

She didn't want to have to find out.

When the bleeding had slowed enough, she carefully dipped a fresh cloth into the boiling water over the fire - _salt_water, she realized as it dripped into a small cut on her thumb - and dabbed gently at the wound. Link hissed in pain, teeth clenched tightly, eyelids fluttering.

"You won't clean anything at that rate," Borville warned, finally removing the mass of bloodied cloths from the large wound in Link's side. "Press harder. Rub at it. _Clean _it!"

"I - I don't want to hurt him worse -"

"Slowly dying of infection would _hurt worse," _Borville shook his head in exasperation. "I thought you wanted him to live?"

Zelda's brow creased. Murmuring another apology, she patted the wound more vigorously, wincing when she felt the solid bone and Link yelled breathlessly, a weak spasm jerking his frame.

Borville cursed. "Rudi!" he called out, pausing his work on the deep wound cutting through Link's side.

The stable master returned looking frustrated. "So sorry - the ferrier's working on getting that rod ready. And I have rope, but it's not exactly… _sanitary. _This is a stable, after all…"

"Bring it anyway," the old man insisted crossly. "We need to tie this kid down so he won't struggle. I'm about to start stitching these shut - and then there's the whole cauterization to think about. We can't have him flopping about like a fish!"

Rudi cast an anxious glance at the barely conscious hero on the bed. "Well… you know better than I do, at any rate," he muttered. "Then… I'll go and get that now."

Borville inhaled deeply. "Thanks." Waddling to another cupboard, he fetched a long, curved needle and a spool of thread; although his features were calm, uncertainty was clear in his magnified eyes. "Can you still hear me, boy? What's your name?"

"Link," he whispered raspily through bloodied lips, eyelids hardly parted at all.

"Well, Link, you seem like a tough kid, so I'm going to be honest with you." Borville threaded the needle carefully. "This big cut here got your stomach. That means I can't give you anything to numb the pain - you won't be able to eat or drink _anything _for a while - so this is going to hurt. I'm going to clean it, and then I'll sew it closed. You need to focus on your breathing and try to hold still until Rudi comes back, okay? Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Link drew in a shallow, bubbling breath and gave a nearly imperceptible nod. Borville turned his gaze to Zelda. "Hold his hand or something," he advised. "I mean… I need you to keep working on his wounds, but… I think he could use some support."

Zelda nodded. For some reason, those words from the ancient physician came the closest to unhinging her than anything else that had happened. _Nayru, Din, Farore… please help him!_

She had, as far as she could tell, done all she could for the wound on his shoulder - all that remained was to stitch it shut, but it seemed that Borville only had one needle. She wrapped his shoulder tightly in white cloth from a roll Borville had taken down before moving to the other side of the cot. The next worse cut, as far as she could tell, was one the lizalfos had dealt to his thigh - a very large bloodstain soaked the upper part of his trousers.

"Oh - hang on a moment," Borville said, noticing her hesitation as her hands hovered over his right leg. The physician went again to one of the cupboards, after carefully setting down his needle, and pulled out a large pair of scissors. "Here. Cut off the pant leg beneath the wound."

Zelda took the scissors from him but waited a moment more before using them. _I… I think we had a spare set of clothes with us… didn't we? _She couldn't remember - Link had been the one to pack everything.

Shaking away her hesitation, she slid the scissors into the blood-soaked hole in his trousers and cut all the way around his leg before rolling the cloth down away from the wound. She didn't pull the pant leg completely off; the bottom was still tucked into his boot, which enclosed his swollen - possibly broken - ankle. _It would only cause needless pain._

Borville pressed a cloth damp with hot saltwater to the wound he had been working on and Link groaned, a weak shudder passing through him. Zelda winced; with her own saltwater cloth in hand, she began to clean the wound in his thigh while her free hand gently curled around his fingers. _Hold on - please._

Link's breaths swiftly grew more labored as Borville continued to clean his gashed side. His pale face gleamed with sweat in the afternoon light filtering in through the window; his eyes were tightly closed and his teeth bared in a grimace of anguish and determination. At one point, the physician must have come into contact with something especially sensitive - Zelda tried not to think about it too much - and Link screamed in agony, convulsing on the cot, his fingers tightening around Zelda's with strength she didn't think he was capable of. The next instant, he went abruptly limp, his chest heaving with hoarse, ragged breaths.

Footsteps thudding against the wooden floorboards announced Rudi's return. "I've brought the rope," he announced quietly.

"Bring it here," Borville muttered, looking up from his work and retrieving the scissors from where Zelda had left them on the cot. He measured out three long strips of rope and handed one to Rudi and the other to Zelda. "I've got his shoulders. Rudi, do his ankles - tie one end of the rope around one ankle, bring it under the table and wrap it around the other ankle, and then tie the end around the first ankle again. You, girl - same thing, but with his wrists."

Rudi nodded, lifting Link's left foot and tying the rope around it. Zelda swallowed thickly. "Wh-what about - the broken bones?"

"It's more important that we get everything else cleaned and sealed," Borville sighed. "Bones can wait, but enough blood loss will kill him."

Shivering on the cot, Link coughed again before whimpering faintly. Zelda inhaled shakily. "Alright," she whispered, taking her segment of rope and binding it around his uninjured wrist before passing it beneath the cot and looping it around his bruised, misshapen one, wincing at his weak cries of pain. _I'm sorry… _

When they finished and Rudi left the room to check with the ferrier, there were ropes around Link's triceps as well. It seemed that he was no longer truly coherent; his eyes were barely open and didn't seem to focus on anything in particular, and the only sounds to leave his mouth were pained groans that were swiftly growing weaker and weaker.

"That should do it," Borville murmured, nodding slowly. "Let's get back to work."

Zelda bit back a sigh, returning to the wound on Link's thigh. Borville finally began to sew the wound in his side closed entirely; the battered hero's breaths quickened and soft whimpers of agony escaped his bloodied lips. She didn't want to continue cleaning his wounds - she wanted to hold him, comfort him, tell him it would be over soon - _But I'm not a healer. I know only the basics of medicine. So this… this must be what's best for him right now._

And yet… Borville's assistants had quit because of his methods, and it was clear that Rudi doubted him as well. Uncertainty twisted in her soul, and she offered up another prayer for Link's survival. She ran her thumb over his knuckles with her free hand, hoping to convey as much comfort as she could through that simple touch. _I wish I could do more._

Borville exhaled slowly, straightening as much as his hunched back would allow. He took the bandage roll and wrapped the deep gash in Link's side, the stitches finally complete. "There. One down… too many to go." He looked up at her, frowning. "I… didn't try to do anything with his stomach. Too little is known about… about that kind of injury. His body will just have to heal that on its own, if that's possible."

His words struck a familiar chord within her, but she couldn't think of why. "It's possible," she assured him with conviction she wasn't so sure she actually felt.

Borville merely sighed.

* * *

**/\/\/\**


	8. Breaking Point

**Breaking Point**

**/\/\/\**

**Fear (Guest): I'm so happy you like it! Thanks for reviewing!**

**/\/\/\**

By the time Rudi returned with a long, narrow metal rod clasped in a pair of tongs, glowing dully, Borville had stitched closed the wounds on Link's shoulder and thigh, and Zelda had finished cleaning four more of the deeper wounds. Link himself was still somehow conscious, but his breaths were shallower than ever, while his pulse continued to race at deadly speeds.

"I'm… not entirely sure this is a good idea," Rudi admitted as Borville carefully took the tongs into his hands. "I don't feel comfortable doing something like this, even as a means of healing -"

"Get in line," Borville muttered, carefully setting the rod down on a metal tray alongside his needle and readjusting the tongs' grip. "I can't think of anything else to do, but this young lady is insistent that I _try _to save him, and this… this is the only thing I could come up with. Now, do me a favor and hold him down."

Zelda blinked several times, eyeing the metal rod with apprehension. "But… the ropes…"

"Might not be enough," the physician growled. "Rudi, I need you to do this for me. One hand above his navel, the other below. Keep yourself clear of the wounds. You, girl - hold his shoulders down. Or try to comfort him somehow."

She nodded, her mouth dry, and took her place at the head of the cot. Borville raised the metal rod vertically and slowly pushed it into the smaller of the two arrow wounds. Link went rigid, a strangled gasp escaping his lips. Borville studied him anxiously, pulling the rod back out before pushing it all the way through. Link screamed, his jaws gaping as he writhed mindlessly against the ropes and hands holding him down. Zelda clenched her teeth hoping to hold back her tears, feeling his shoulders jerk beneath her grip. Steam rose around the edges of the wound and Link's struggles weakened as he continued to scream, sweat glistening on his pale brow. The acrid smell of burning flesh drifted through the room.

When the steam began to fade, Borville pulled the metal rod back out, scowling heavily, before moving on to the second, larger wound. Without giving Link a chance to recuperate even the slightest bit, the burning tool plunged into his body and he screamed again, struggling with renewed vigor, his body shuddering violently. More steam. Borville studied the wound anxiously, carefully pressing the rod deeper and deeper. Link's body spasmed; Zelda leaned forward, resting some of her weight on her hands to try and hold his shoulders still, as Rudi continued to keep his midsection stationary.

"It's crooked," Borville scowled, twisting the rod, changing the angle. A tremor passed through Link's body and he shouted out again, soaked in sweat, teeth bared in a nearly inhuman grimace of anguish. Zelda shut her eyes, breathing heavily, feeling tears squeezing out beneath her lashes against her will. _Goddesses, _she prayed, her heart throbbing, _let it be worth this suffering - let him live, I beg you!_

A sudden deathly silence filled the room. Borville cursed under his breath and Zelda's eyes shot open. Link was almost unnaturally tense and shuddering as the physician continued to poke the slowly-cooling rod through the uneven wound from the arrow they'd had to manually force through. The silence, she realized in horror, came because Link wasn't breathing.

Almost the instant she thought it Link trembled more violently and sucked in a hoarse, rattling breath and letting it out with a groan before breathing shallowly in and out again, faster and gaining speed. His pulse hammered faster than ever, and more blood spilled from his lips. He was undoubtedly dying.

"Zelda?"

Zelda jumped, a startled gasp escaping her lips as she jerked her head towards the door. "P-Purah?"

Two diminutive Sheikah stood in the doorway to Borville's workroom, one bent double with age and the other practically glowing with youth.

"Ah, Dr. Robbie," Rudi said with an awkward chuckle, looking over his shoulder. "I wasn't aware you actually wanted to come… and with your, uh, _granddaughter?"_

Robbie choked out a surprised laugh. "Er… yes, well, she has a strong stomach."

"What are you all doing in here?" Borville growled, not looking up from the wound as he slowly began to pull the metal rod out. Link whimpered, his back arching slightly as his fingers curled into weak, shuddering fists. His breaths came in rapid, strained bursts."I can't be distracted right now - this boy is fighting for his life -"

"Yes, well," Robbie said, his voice solemn, "burning him from the inside out is no way to save him."

Borville's leathery cheeks reddened. "And what would you know? The technology for this kind of injury doesn't exist -"

"Not now," Purah interrupted. "It doesn't exist _now. _But it did, once…"

Link's rapid breaths seemed to be growing quieter. Zelda's eyes widened. "The Shrine of Resurrection…"

The century-old Sheikah child slid her own Sheikah Slate from her belt. "That's right. Lucky for you, it's one of the travel gates I've activated on here, seeing as you've misplaced your own."

Zelda was beginning to feel weaker as hope and desperation lifted her soul. "And… it wouldn't take another century?"

Purah nodded confidently. "I've been making adjustments," she explained. "Rehabilitating old or wounded soldiers in order to protect the kingdom is my life's work, remember? Now, come on - I can tell you about that later, but we need to get him out of here. He needs to be alive by the time we reach the shrine in order to recover as fast as possible."

Zelda nodded, instantly bending down and working at the ropes binding his shoulders. Rudi watched her uncertainly.

Borville gaped at the two Sheikah. "What in Hylia's name are you lot blathering on about? I _have_ a solution - it's never been tested before, but it'll work, I'm certain! And you want to take him away on the whim of - of a _child?"_

Robbie shuffled awkwardly. "Well, my… granddaughter's… a bit of a child genius. She knows what she's talking about, I assure you."

"You're talking nonsense - wait, stop! Don't mess with those ropes; don't you understand he could make himself _worse?"_

"Borville, thank you for your help," Zelda told him, quickly undoing the ropes around Link's wrists and trying not to dwell on how cold he had become. "But these are my friends, and… I trust them." She glanced at Purah. "We… er, there's a very powerful… I mean, there's a very large chance he's… not going to make it anyway." Her eyes stung, and she swallowed back a sob. It was the truth, even though she was only saying it to get rid of the physician. "I'd… rather he spent this last time w-with friends, instead of…" She shrugged helplessly.

It worked - the frustration in Borville's magnified gaze faded. He looked down, at the now-charred edges of the two arrow wounds in Link's side, and carefully set the tongs and the metal rod back on the tray with his needle. "Fine. I… yes, these are… serious wounds. And I told you before - I don't know exactly what to do."

Zelda blinked rapidly, letting her fingers slide around Link's motionless hand. "Will you… could we have a bit of privacy for a moment?" she asked, meeting Rudi's gaze.

The stable master bowed his head and nodded, glancing at Borville and giving a slight jerk of his chin that said, _Time to go._ "Do what… what you will, I suppose. Let us know if there's anything more we can do."

Borville followed him from the room, head bowed low, hands clasped behind his back.

Robbie was quick to shut the door behind them. "Alright. The Shrine. We all set to go?"

"In a moment," Purah murmured, tapping the screen of her Sheikah Slate and hurrying to the cot. "Robbie, come a bit closer - the sensor isn't detecting you - there. Everyone hold still."

Zelda's heart leaped with panic. "Wait - the Master Sword," she protested, bending down and heaving it up from beneath the cot. "Link wouldn't want us to leave it." _Not that anyone else would be able to lift it, anyway, but..._

"Anything else we'll need?" Robbie fretted, his bizarre goggles twisting in different directions.

Purah shook her head. "The Shrine has it all," she said, tapping the screen once more. Zelda winced and closed her eyes, the pins-and-needles sensation of fast-travelling spreading up through her body, a peculiar tingling numbness that didn't fade for several seconds.

And when she opened her eyes again, she was standing on the ancient seal just within the Shrine of Resurrection. A damp, cold breeze whistled eerily through the darkness, and she could hear distant birdsong from the cave's exit behind her.

"Alright, Zel, you'll have to help us here," Purah said, using a no-nonsense tone that clashed with her otherwise childlike appearance. "I don't know if we'll be able to get him into the healing unit on our own…"

"Here - you take his legs, and we'll both lift his shoulders," Robbie suggested, tapping one foot anxiously against the ground.

Zelda nodded, gratefully setting the Master Sword down before lifting Link's calves just above his ankles. With Robbie and Purah on the other end of his body, they carried him slowly into the next room.

"I forgot how heavy he was," Robbie grumbled, exertion written across his strained wrinkled face. "You'd never think it - such a scrawny guy…"

Zelda couldn't bring herself to answer. The possibility of Link's survival was tantalizingly near - so near, in fact, that nausea boiled in her stomach from the anxiety and uncertainty of it all. _We're so close. He _can't _die now… please, Farore, give him the strength to live - please!_

"You're certain it won't take another century?" she blurted, her words blurring together in her haste to get them out. "And what about his memories?"

Purah nodded. "Obviously I couldn't study the shrine while he was sealed away inside of it, but I still had all of our old notes. My…" She hesitated, her cheeks flushing pink as they reached the top of the ramp leading to the main chamber of the shrine. "The anti-aging rune I created was one result of that research. Almost everything else I did was pure guesswork, since I couldn't actually get into the shrine. But then Linky woke back up and he let me copy the data from the Sheikah Slate we left him to my own Slate, so I was able to travel here and implement some of my hypotheses. If everything goes as well as it did in those tests, he should be back on his feet in a hundred hours… so about four days."

"Four days…" Zelda saw her friends' faces blur before her eyes as tears clouded her vision. Her heart raced, and her knees wobbled with sudden weakness. _Only four days… thank the Goddesses!_ She wanted nothing more than to weep with gratitude, or to find a Goddess statue somewhere and offer up her prayers of thanks.

But Link chose that moment to cough up more blood, his entire body heaving from the effort, and fear clouded her heart once more. _We're not in the clear yet._

Reaching the center of the room, they laid Link down in the shallow basin beneath the bulging mass of ancient monitors hanging from the ceiling. Runes pulsed a gentle blue; the cold light made Link's skin even paler than it really was. His head lolled to the side, a thin stream of blood dripping from his slightly-parted lips.

_There's less blood this time around, _Zelda thought, remembering the century before as she wrung her hands anxiously. _But he's still… still… _"What can I do?" she asked, her voice hoarse with fear.

Purah had set the Sheikah Slate into its pedestal and was busy manipulating its surface. "The Shrine needs complete access to wounds and… everything else, to keep him alive and mostly-functioning while it heals him. So undo the stitches, get rid of his boots and trousers, and unwrap the bandages. If his chest starts heaving but you don't hear him coughing, turn him on his side - it means he's choking."

Zelda winced. She felt guilty at the mere thought of undoing what Borville had worked to do - a bit grumpy though he was, he had only been trying to help. "So… Borville didn't do _anything_ useful?"

Robbie chuckled dryly, reaching for one of Link's boots. "If anything, he pushed Link _closer _to death, but… we can't really blame him. These wounds…" He sighed heavily. "And, honestly, he's not exactly a top-quality healer. All of his staff left him a while back when he refused to treat a Zora child, claiming he didn't know their anatomy. I sent a message to Purah through the ancient seal outside my lab as quickly as I could."

Zelda began with one of the cloths wrapped around a comparably small gash in his arm. "I did not know we had progressed so little over the years in regard to medicine. You'd think, after… after the guardians turned… we'd have figured out how to deal with wounds like this."

"Our history of technology is strange, to be sure," Purah said from the Sheikah Slate pedestal, frowning heavily at something on the screen. "Impa told me once that the oldest records speak of automated creatures like the guardians that were capable of speech and thought. They were used to mine a peculiar type of mineral thought to have strange effects on time. Many historians believe that the Ocarina of Time and possibly the Master Sword contained that mineral. It has also been theorized that our guidance stones, the ancient flames, and the guardians and Divine Beasts were powered by a form of this mineral." She inhaled deeply, tapping at the Slate, eyes narrowed. "By the era of the Hero of the Sky, when the kingdom was first created, those creatures were already ancient history and could not be recovered."

Zelda blinked slowly, unwinding the bandages around Link's shoulder. "Unusual," she murmured. "One would think that technology would only continue to advance."

Robbie nodded thoughtfully. "It certainly must have made things more convenient. More recently, the ancient Sheikah relics we've unearthed from ten thousand years before are much more complex than anything we could now create.."

"Why did we stop?" Zelda asked softly, confusion building an uncomfortable pressure against her skull. "The technology of the past… it's incredible. The shrines - _this _shrine, able to… to bring someone back from the dead if they aren't too long gone… With further development, imagine what could become possible!"

"I'm certain they did," Purah noted dryly. "A race of people who could never die would continue to reproduce until they overpopulated the world, and life would become entirely miserable. More machines like the guardians and Divine Beasts could entirely change the way wars are fought - people would be destroyed, like Link almost was, and the landscape would be forever altered. Power would be determined not by whoever has the noblest heart, but by whoever has the most powerful weapon against the other.

"And then there's what Robbie said about convenience - what happens when everything is done for us? What will we do? It's entirely possible that our civilization would begin to seek only pleasure, which in turn breeds immorality and corruption. We would become a fallen, broken kingdom."

Zelda swallowed thickly, beginning to unwind the bandages against the deep gash in Link's chest that Borville had worked so hard to clean and seal. "So… you think that the ancient scientists hid away their creations on purpose."

Purah sighed heavily, coming over to the basin. "We just have to think of the consequences," she murmured. "They say that Ganon once took the form of a man. If he did so again, and he and his followers had control of the Shrine of Resurrection, he could never truly be killed."

Zelda shuddered. "But - the Goddesses always send a Hero to combat the evil of Ganon. If we had our own Shrine of Resurrection -"

"Then the two of them would be locked in combat forever, until one of them gives up," Robbie finished, using a small pair of scissors Zelda recognized as tools from his lab to cut and pull bloodied strands of thread free from Link's skin. "Ganon is a creature that thrives on violence. Those with the Spirit of the Hero seek only an end to the violence through any means necessary. Which one of them, do you think, would tire of the fighting first?"

Zelda looked down at Link's motionless face. He was the greatest warrior the kingdom had ever known, and he never once hesitated to take up arms in defense of the kingdom, of her, even of their horses. But she knew that he was not a violent person - in fact, outside of the battlefield, he possessed the gentlest heart she'd ever seen.

_He would never let evil win, would he?_

"If this technology is evil," she murmured, unwrapping the last of the bandages on his chest, "then why do you still study it? What's the point?"

"We were driven by necessity before," Purah explained, bending down to straighten Link's arms at his sides. "Link was the only one capable of defeating Ganon, but Ganon like a coward sent that army of guardians after him and killed him. If we didn't get him back, you would have been overpowered eventually, and we would have been destroyed."

Zelda winced, about to protest that she could hold out as long as necessary, but remembering how difficult holding the Calamity back had been, she acknowledged the truth in Purah's words. _Alone, I could never have _destroyed _Ganon. And… I was so weak by the time Link woke back up…_

She gulped, her thoughts interrupted for a moment as she realized that the only thing Link wore now were his trousers, and Robbie was occupied removing the stitches all across his body. Blushing furiously, she undid his belt and removed his trousers and underwear, bundling them into her arms and leaving them by the Master Sword on the ground. "Y-you still haven't really answered my… er, my question," she stammered, striving to focus her mind on something else. "Why are we _still_ studying these things?"

"We aren't," Robbie answered. "Well… in a sense. My research into guardians was solely to help Link stand against them. Now… I'm focusing solely on improvements to armor. Defense. The ancient arrows I created…" A look of pain flashed briefly over his face. "Their destructive power frightens me. Complete obliteration of any living creature, all in a single moment… in the wrong hands, such a thing would be disastrous."

Purah nodded. "The act of raising someone from the dead is unsettling to me," she admitted. "It's… not natural. I'm hoping that my research into this Shrine will help me discover better methods of healing grievous wounds so that one day, physicians like Borville _will _be able to do something about them. As for the Slumber of Restoration itself… I'm debating whether or not to destroy it or simply remove its ability to force a soul back into its body. I'm… still on the fence about what to do with my anti-aging rune." She shrugged. "Is everything ready over there?"

"Almost," Robbie sighed. "One more wound needs stitches removed…"

"And how is Link?" Purah pressed. "The scans say he's… unresponsive. That last thing the physician did to him put him into a state of shock."

Zelda swallowed tightly, lightly brushing her the back of her hand across his forehead. "He's ice cold," she whispered, snatching her hand back in surprise before tentatively placing two fingers to his neck. "Very rapid pulse, and rapid breaths, although they're extremely shallow…"

Robbie winced, glancing up at her. "It… it'll be alright," he told her hesitantly. "This isn't as worse as it was last time."

Zelda turned to Purah, desperate for confirmation. "Is it really not as bad?" she asked quietly, the threat of tears returning as she turned her full attention back to the direness of the situation.

"Last time he was dead and down to a third of his body's blood," Purah reminded her gravely. "Now… I'd say he's lost about 40%, and a lot of the bleeding is internal. And there's the fact that he's very much alive still. This time, I'd say the biggest factor to his condition is fatigue. It takes a lot of energy to fight off pain, and from what I've heard, he's… been through a lot of it."

Zelda nodded with a heavy sigh, letting her legs fold beneath her. Kneeling beside the basin, she reached out to rest one hand on Link's shoulder, her heart aching with cold worry and desperate, fearful love. _I don't want to lose you again. This _has _to work._

"Alright, I'm done," Robbie said heavily, wiping his scissors on his dark trousers.

Purah slid her fingers across the Sheikah Slate. "You need to let go of him now, Zelda," she said gently, and reluctantly Zelda pulled her hand away. Liquid began to ooze from the sides of the basin, not quite the consistency of water. Pain and fear pierced her chest as she watched it rise up around Link's body, covering his arms and legs and then his torso and his face, his mouth and nose.

Soft footsteps announced that Purah had approached the basin. The three of them watched in silence for several moments. Link's chest continued to rise and fall with breath, courtesy of the composition of the strange liquid coating him. With each exhale, wispy clouds of blood floated from his slightly-parted lips before dissipating, and Purah nodded confidently. "Good - it's already working to clean him out. This is… this is good."

Zelda pressed her hands to her eyes, trying to force away the tears, as she had found herself doing much too often over the past several days. Purah darted back to the Sheikah Slate, a thoughtful frown on her youthful face.

"Alright - we're at 50% penetration," she announced. "The way this stuff works is that it kind of… takes possession of his entire body's inner workings to keep everything functioning as it should as it works on him. If there's an area that's lacking or injured, it'll simulate that part of the body and take over its function until it's healed." She returned her attention to the Slate. "75% now."

Clearing her throat, she continued her explanation. "The way that it actually _heals_ him is kind of the opposite of how a river flowing over stone wears it down over time. As the liquid flows through him, it removes the damaged tissue and replaces it with new, functioning tissue created through imitating tissue in similar areas." She pushed her glasses higher up on her nose, blushing a little. "It's still mostly a mystery to me," she admitted. "I'm just telling you what I've found so far. The important thing right now is that it works."

Zelda nodded, taking in a deep breath and feeling her racing heart begin to calm. _Everything will be alright. Trust your friends._

"It's at 100%," Purah reported. "Time estimated for recovery… okay, I was a little off. It'll be five days."

Zelda closed her eyes with a soft, relieved sigh. Then her heart lurched. "Wh-what about his memory? He won't… he won't forget everything again, will he?"

Robbie tilted his head. "We believe now that the Shrine wasn't what caused his memory loss," he explained. "Rather, it was a combination of the trauma he experienced obtaining those wounds from the guardians, and of all of the blood he lost."

"And how is this different?" she asked weakly, more tears building in her eyes. _Not again._

Purah checked the Sheikah Slate. "All told, he lost about half of his blood this time around - which is still horrible, but not as bad as it was before. And… I saw him before he went in here a hundred years ago. We both did." She glanced at Robbie.

"The sheer scale of the wounds the guardians inflicted is nothing compared to these," Robbie confirmed, frowning. "Ganon was a coward, sending them after the two of you in such numbers."

Zelda shuddered. "But - but you said he went into shock. How will that affect him?"

"We don't know enough about the mind right now to say one way or another," Purah explained gently, walking hesitantly a step closer to the basin with her hands clasped together. "He'll live, Zelda, and that's what matters most right now, isn't it?"

Shakily she took in another deep breath. _Goddesses preserve me - how much more of this can I handle?_ "Yes," she whispered, but it came out more like a whimper. "Of… of course it is."

Purah patted her knee. "Come on - he'll be fine now. You can come with me to Hateno after I drop Robbie back at his lab, or you can stay in Akkala if you want. Link will be fine now."

Zelda closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the edge of the basin. "Purah… our Sheikah Slate was broken in… in the battle. Link… fell down a cliff, and… the screen was cracked. It's in our horse's saddlebag now…"

Robbie tilted his head. "Ah - I'd wondered why I didn't see it."

"I can certainly try to fix it," Purah assured her. "We can get it now on our way back."

Zelda shook her head. "I want to stay," she said quietly. "I… it might sound silly, but I really don't want to leave him. I'll watch over him for these five days, and then when he wakes up I'll be right there. A familiar face might… might help." She blinked rapidly, but several tears trickled down her cheeks anyway. _At least I'm holding the deluge at bay, for now…_

Robbie and Purah exchanged glances. "We'll visit, then," Robbie suggested. "Being alone for five days with a… with Link in this state sounds like a major bout of depression, in my opinion."

Purah nodded with a gentle smile. "And I'll bring you food from Hateno. It won't be half as good as what Link can make, but… it'll be something, right?"

Zelda nodded, managing a grim smile of her own. "Thank you," she whispered.

* * *

**/\/\/\**

* * *

**Okay, so I just wanted to say… this story has been finished for several weeks. Since BEFORE the trailer for the sequel came out. That bit in this chapter about what if Ganondorf got hold of the Shrine of Resurrection was something I wrote without really thinking much of it. And then Nintendo Black Crisis on YouTube pointed out that the strange room where Ganondorf was sealed in the trailer looked a bit like an evil version of the Shrine of Resurrection. Aaah!**

**Just something I thought was pretty cool… ( :**


	9. Falling Tears

**Falling Tears**

**/\/\/\**

The three of them left first for Akkala, to return Robbie to his lab and to clear everything up at the stable. They hadn't been gone for horribly long, but it was long enough for Rudi to panic about their disappearance.

"Are you alright?" he exclaimed as they approached from the shrine. "There was silence for so long I went in and - and you were all _gone! _What happened?"

Robbie gave a slight cough. "I… Deku Nuts. You've heard of those, right?"

Rudi took a step back in surprise. "Don't they… cause some sort of flash?"

"And a brief sensation of being stunned," Robbie nodded vigorously. "We… didn't want to upset everyone at the stable with the sight of… his body… when we brought him out."

Grief passed over the stable master's face. "So… he's dead, then." He turned to Zelda, hands clasped in front of him. "I offer you my sincerest condolences, ma'am - the two of you were evidently very close."

Zelda nodded, not trusting herself to speak. For one, she was afraid she would somehow ruin Robbie's alibi.

And for another, speaking about Link as if he was dead, when he wasn't at her side to prove everyone wrong, and when he was once again lying motionless in the Shrine of Resurrection, made the possibility seem far more real, and it terrified her. Tears trembled in her eyes and she blinked rapidly, letting several fall - it didn't soothe the empty ache in her heart.

Robbie bowed his head. "We've… buried him in that shrine back there," he explained, his voice low with solemnity. "It's… a traditional burial ground for, er, Sheikah of some significance. Well, Link wasn't a Sheikah, but he's done many significant things, so…"

Rudi's eyes widened. "That fast?" he murmured. "Without even a funeral?"

"I didn't want to wait," Zelda spoke up again, although she could feel her resolve crumbling as she thought about what she would say. "I… want to remember him as - as close to life as possible. With all of these injuries - I didn't want to wait to see wh-what would… would happen to his b-body…" The tears were coming faster, and she pressed her hands to her eyes almost angrily, wishing they would stop. _He's alive,_ she told herself, over and over again. _Alive, alive, alive, alive…_

"I'm so sorry," Rudi murmured, tears in his own eyes. "Well, I - you're free to visit, any time. Free of charge."

"Thank you," Zelda managed, although beneath the misery in her soul she felt a twinge of guilt for playing on the man's emotions in such a way.

"If you see another guy who looks like him coming through, that's his twin brother," Purah spoke up, smiling cutely - every inch the eight-year-old she appeared to be. "So don't worry about it!"

Robbie took a step in front of her. "_Really, _Rudi, thank you for all you've done. Thank you especially for coming to inform me. I think we'll be off now - Zelda and… and Link's _brother _will likely be back at some point to collect their horses. Tell Borville - thank him, too, for trying to help."

Rudi nodded sadly, his shoulder slumped. "Your horses will receive great care," he assured her. "I… I wish you the best."

As they headed up the trail towards Robbie's lab, Rudi took the old, wrinkled Sheikah scientist aside. "You might want to see someone about your granddaughter," he murmured anxiously. "She… was so cheerful just now, and that poor boy _died, _for goodness' sake. And she wasn't at all affected seeing his wounds…"

Robbie looked up at him with his lizalfos-eye goggles. "I'll… look into that," he promised.

Jerrin was waiting for them just outside the lab. "Is everything alright?" she asked, kneading her hands. "Is Link…?"

"He'll be alright," Purah said, at once reverting to her usual self. "We put him back into the Shrine of Resurrection - I've been adjusting it, so he'll be all good to go in just a few days."

Zelda inhaled deeply, repeating it to herself. _A few days. Just a few days and he'll be back and everything will be fine._

Jerrin smiled. "Thank goodness," she sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. "I'm glad you were able to get to him in time."

"You shouldn't have said anything about a brother," Robbie turned to Purah. "It seems a bit too obvious, don't you think?"

Purah shrugged. "I had to do _something - _give him a little heads up so he doesn't die of fright when he sees a supposedly dead man walking all over the place. And that way Link doesn't have to pretend to be dead for the rest of his life - he could even say that he decided to change his name to his 'brother's' out of respect!"

"It's still a mess," Robbie said, shaking his head exasperatedly. "But I suppose it's a good way to keep a low profile about the Shrine of Resurrection."

"You're the one who said he was _dead," _Purah challenged. "Link would've been incredibly difficult to explain otherwise!"

"The Yiga Clan already knows about the Shrine," Zelda pointed out. "Link all but destroyed them, but even so, there are rumors about it, and about him."

Purah frowned at her. "Then… we'd best hope they stay just that - rumors. At least until I find some way to disable the resurrection part of it - it's just too powerful."

Zelda nodded, wiping her face on her sleeve, but even so she was grateful for its power. It had brought Link back to her once, and she hoped, desperately, that it would do so again.

After a brief meal in Akkala, Purah took Zelda to her lab in Hateno and gave her a new set of clothing so that she could change out of her bloodied tunic and trousers. Giving her a bedroll and a large bag of food, she took her back to the Shrine of Resurrection and helped her set up for the night.

"I'll be back tomorrow," Purah assured her, pulling out her own Sheikah Slate and preparing to leave. "Monsters never come near here, so you'll be safe."

Her body dissolved into blue lines that soon faded away into nothingness, and Zelda was alone in the dark chamber.

Robbie hadn't been wrong - it was incredibly depressing to sit in the Shrine with only a very much unconscious hero to keep her company. She busied herself by first washing out the blood in his trousers in the little pond near the Temple of Time outside. Although she truly didn't want to leave his side, knowing that he was so close by eased the anxiety in her heart, and she was grateful to be doing something useful.

Purah seemed to have had the same idea; when she returned the second day she held out Link's Champion tunic. The blood had already been washed out, for which she was grateful, but the holes were all still there. "I thought you might like something to do while you're waiting," Purah smiled sympathetically.

Patching up his clothing took up much more time than she expected, but she was grateful for that. The Shrine was eerily silent - the absence of the sound of Link's breathing was more than unsettling, and it only served to heighten her fears that perhaps he really _was_ dead. Fixing the tears in Link's clothes gave her something else to focus on, something to distract her.

It had been a century since she'd last sewn anything. Even though she had been the one to make the Champion's tunic in the first place, stitching it back up was an incredibly time-consuming ordeal. As she worked, she noticed several other mended rips in the fabric and remembered Impa telling her that she'd had it restored by the time Link visited her after awakening. She could also see other tears, more messily stitched over, and guessed that Link himself had attempted to fix the various damage done to his clothing throughout his journey. She smiled, imagining it as she went over his work with a more practiced hand - Link, perhaps sitting under an apple tree somewhere, attempting to fix whatever had last been done to his tunic.

Her smile faded as she realized that a good deal of the damage was probably caused by something that injured him. _It wouldn't be inaccurate to guess that I'd find matching scars on his torso._

She tried not to check the progress of the Shrine's healing mechanisms too often, as it was horribly awkward even looking at just his face with his current state of undress. When she did muster the resolve to assess his condition, she was both repulsed and fascinated. He was no longer bleeding, but she could see blood flowing through him where his skin had been torn. She could see more than just blood flowing, though, and the morbid thought occurred to her that with the Shrine of Resurrection keeping someone alive, it would be possible to observe exactly how blood circulated, food was digested, oxygen was intaken…

She shuddered at the realization of what that would require of whoever was being studied, and she forced it from her mind. _Perhaps Purah can find _another _way of examining those processes._

By the third day, color had returned to Link's skin even though his wounds weren't yet completely healed. He no longer looked like a corpse, and the sight of him lying so still no longer sent tremors of fear through her heart.

On the fourth day, she noticed that something had changed in his face. His lips were twisted downwards, and his brow was furrowed, as if in pain. It was that day that she realized the swelling in his wrist, ankle, and ribs was rapidly decreasing.

_Purah didn't mention how the Shrine fixes broken bones,_ she thought, sitting at the base of a pine tree that afternoon. Perhaps, since bone was so much more dense and solid, it was a more strenuous process to break down the damaged areas and build it back up in the correct position. _That would mean that anything out of place would have to be entirely destroyed, wouldn't it?_

She winced, tears that she thought she had left behind returning to sting her eyes. _I had hoped that he wouldn't feel any more pain._

That night, she had difficulty falling asleep, despite the fact that the bedroll Purah had left her with was perfectly comfortable and of a much higher quality than the two Link brought with them on their journey. The blankets were thick wool lined with soft rabbit fur, and the small pillow felt nearly like a cloud.

But it was frustratingly silent in the Shrine. She was far enough from the entrance that the chirp of crickets and the hooting of owls was all but sealed from her ears.

And then there was the fact that the Shrine was always dark and gloomy, no matter the time of day. The only light came from the glowing blue designs on the ancient monitors above the basin, the engravings on the bottom of the basin, and the usual shrine constellations on the walls. It was an unnatural, uncomfortable environment.

On top of that, the thought that - if everything had gone alright - Link would be awakening the next day filled her with so much excitement and anxiety that she struggled to calm her mind enough for sleep. She finally drifted off when her eyelids simply became too heavy to stay open, sometime after midnight. Exhausted from her nearly-constant worry for her hero, she slept long and hard, nestled by the surprising comfort of Purah's bedroll.

A soft groan stirred her from her sleep and she sat up in a flash, whirling to face the basin. Stumbling out of her bedroll, she scrambled up to the edge and looked down, her heart racing a mile a minute. "L-Link?" she squeaked out, barely able to muster the breath to say his name.

It seemed that he wasn't yet entirely conscious. The healing liquid in the basin had drained, leaving his skin slightly damp and his hair wet and plastered messily to his face in a rather adorable way. His lips were slightly parted, and Zelda nearly wept at the sound of his soft, even breaths in the stillness of the Shrine. A quick glance down at his body showed new scars, pink and tender looking, where each of his wounds had been. _It looks like he'll probably be sore for a while… Was it like that before? Have the adjustments Purah made lessened the Shrine's effectiveness in some way?_

She almost couldn't care less. Link was alive, practically completely healed, lying in a light slumber. Laying her head down on her arms folded over the edge of the basin, she closed her eyes tightly, allowing a few tears to fall.

"Z-Zelda?"

Her head snapped up, and the next moment she found herself awkwardly snatched in Link's desperate embrace over the side of the basin, his head pressed against her neck.

"You're alright," he whispered, his voice weak from disuse. "You're _alright…"_

"O-of course," Zelda said, surprised. "What about… you?"

He pulled away slightly, his brow furrowed. "You were… trapped," he murmured, blinking. "The Calamity…" He scowled, looking suddenly inexplicably angry. "I can't believe I was here all that time! This means… this means you did it yourself. I… was too late." His shoulders slumped.

Zelda stared at him. _He doesn't remember?_ At least he knew more than he had the first time he'd awakened from the Slumber of Restoration, but still…

Link looked up at her, eyes wide. "Wait. I… the Champions. Guardians…" He frowned, looking utterly perplexed. "I slept for a century, but… then I… woke up?" His chest was beginning to heave with panicked breaths. "Zelda, what happened? What's going on?"

She quickly pulled him into another embrace, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing soothing circles on his back. "It's alright," she whispered. "Link, I… I don't know how much I should tell, you, or if it would be better for you to learn for yourself." She swallowed thickly, tears burning her cheeks as she tried to comfort him. "Wh-what do you remember… of the Calamity's defeat?"

She felt him take in a breath and hold it for several seconds. "W-wasn't I… asleep? I… but there was… the Bow of Light, and you... showed me where to aim…" He raised his head to look at her intently. "Was that real, or just… just a dream?"

"It was real," she assured him, unable to hide a small smile. "Do you know what happened after that? After you and I defeated the Calamity?"

He opened his mouth, staring at nothing in particular, but it was several moments before he spoke again. "The… Divine Beasts… they stopped working. We… you saw that… everyone - all of the different races were... governing themselves, and had done so successfully for the past century. You… didn't have to try to take back the throne of Hyrule, because it… didn't exist anymore." He nodded slowly, his breaths calming and his features softening. "It's coming back now, I think… we went on a journey together. There was something… something I needed to tell you."

Zelda blinked, studying him with concern and a little more than an inkling of fear. "Do you… remember what that was?"

He gulped audibly, his cheeks reddening with a blush. Chuckling hesitantly, he glanced back up at her. "W-we were attacked," he murmured, raising a hand to prod carefully at the fresh scar tissue across his torso. His blush darkened, and he quickly pulled his knees up to his chest, ducking slightly lower behind the rim of the basin. "C-clothes?" he squeaked out, looking at her desperately.

Zelda's heart gave a startled jump. She'd been so caught up by relief at seeing him not _dying_ anymore, and by contrasting worry at how dazed and confused he seemed, that she hadn't paid any attention to the fact that he was currently naked. "Right - of c-course," she stammered, her own cheeks warming as she left the basin for his freshly mended trousers and Champion's tunic folded neatly on the ground near her bedroll. Lifting them into her arms, she all but threw them at Link before facing the wall. "I don't know quite what happened to your undershirt," she explained, nervously wringing her hands. "I think perhaps it was too bloodied to be salvaged. Sorry."

"It's… fine," Link responded distractedly, cloth rustling. "Thank you for fixing these. I'll… try to be more careful next time."

Zelda couldn't help but smile at that. "Certainly," she chuckled, thinking of how reckless he had always been. _Well… to be fair, ever since he awakened from the Shrine - the first time - there's been quite a bit of improvement in that area._

"Okay," Link said a few moments later, still sounding a bit flustered. "I'm… not naked."

Nonetheless, she felt hesitant turning back around to face him. He was sitting on the edge of the basin, bare feet hanging down. Slowly she walked back towards him, truly taking in his appearance. He still looked a little lost, but his clear blue eyes were free from the pain she had last seen in them, and his skin was its usual healthy, lightly-tanned color, not the sickly white it had been before. Without an undershirt, his arms were left bare, and she could only see a few of the freshest scars; these had been such minor wounds that they were already barely visible. There was no outward sign that his wrist had ever been broken at all.

"How do you feel?" she asked quietly, belatedly realizing that it should have been the first thing she asked. "Is there any pain still, or…"

He tilted his head thoughtfully. "I'm… a bit sore," he admitted. "But that might be because… wait, how long was I in here?" Fear flashed across his face.

"Only five days," she assured him, nearly breaking down into tears as she said it.

Link looked impressed. "How was that possible? From what I remember… it was bad, wasn't it? I mean - of course it was, if you had to bring me here, but…"

"Purah's been making some adjustments," she told him, and his face lit up.

"I remember her saying something about that!" he said excitedly. "It's… it's coming back, I think. We were looking for shrines, right? And - and it was a lynel that attacked us, and you…" His features softened and he looked at her with eyes so warm with admiration that she feared she would melt. "You set a trap. There were _two _lynels, and you… you set a trap to distract them so that we could escape."

"More or less," Zelda shrugged, blushing.

Link shook his head slowly. "Please don't do that again," he whispered, reaching out to take her hand. "That… that was _terrifying."_

"I would do it again in an instant if it meant saving you," she promised, folding her hands over his. "You've essentially done the same for me for so long now - it's high time someone was watching out for _you."_

Link scratched the back of his head, getting to his feet. He opened his mouth, his brow furrowed, but it was several moments before he spoke. "I… I remember what I wanted to talk to you about," he said quietly, his voice shaking. He stared into her eyes, his gaze full of solemnity and love. "Zelda, w-will you marry me?"

All at once her eyes watered, and she could feel the resistance she'd forced herself to build over the past week crumbling to scattered pieces. "_Link,"_ she whimpered, falling to her knees and burying her head in her hands as at last she let the torrent of tears fall. He was quick to kneel beside her and nervously enfold her in his arms.

She pressed her face against his chest, clutching his swiftly-dampening tunic as if it were a lifeline, overcome by so many emotions she didn't quite know what to do with them. Relief, still, that he was alright and rapidly remembering everything that had happened; gratitude, to Purah and the ancient Sheikah and the Goddesses, for letting him live; overwhelming joy and love, for he had just asked the question she had longed to hear from him, joy at the thought of spending the rest of the long years of their lives together.

Through her tears, she barely managed to gasp out a response. "Yes!"

* * *

**/\/\/\**

* * *

**Thank you all for reading! You guys are the best!**

**Special thanks to AriTheDoggo, James Birdsong, ****AzHasANewName1, ****DillPickle56, Guest, Fear, Meyssa, , NC2001, Smiley612, and Makayla Cavin for the reviews; I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this story, and I really appreciate the support!**


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